The Mitchell Files
by Neuropsych
Summary: FINISHED (yay!) This is my first story, and it's different. It has SG-1, of course, but also includes another SG team, including one member who has history with Jack
1. 01

The gate flared as the security teams gathered at the ramp and around the SGC, all holding their weapons at ready, even though

The gate flared as the security teams gathered at the ramp and around the SGC, all holding their weapons at ready, even though the iris opened. SG2 had been gone a long time, and no one knew where they'd been or what might have happened to them. Or what they might be bringing back. If it was indeed them.

The gate flared again, and this time a form appeared. Then another. Then another. All three tumbled to the floor, and two lay still. The third one staggered to his feet, turning back towards the gate.

"Don't close the iris, the colonel is coming!" He was dirty, and wearing ragged fatigues, but he was a member of SG2, and the iris stayed open. The young major stood still, watching the gate breathlessly as medics swarmed the ramp, checking the two fallen soldiers for injuries. They found plenty. Both men were bleeding, as was the young major. He shrugged off the medics, more intent on the gate than his wounds. Jack O'Neill walked up the ramp, looking down at the injured men, noting that their wounds looked as though staff weapons had caused them. He stopped next to the major.

"Anderson?"

"She's coming, Sir, She was right behind us, laying down cover fire."

"Was she hurt?"

"Not badly enough to stop her." He was interrupted by the arrival of Hammond, who stopped and stood next to the two men.

"Major Anderson? Where's colonel Mitch-"

Another flare was all the warning they had as another form came through the gate at high speed, tumbling into the three men and knocking all of them to the ground in a heap, with her underneath. They scrambled to their feet, and Jack pulled the newcomer up, even as Hammond supported Anderson, who was obviously unsteady on his feet.

"Close the iris!

The gate was shut down immediately and Hammond turned to ask what had happened when Carter stepped forward.

"Excuse me, Sir," she said as she reached out with her right hand and touched Anderson's cheek, her eyes filled with concentration as she studied the young major. Satisfied, she moved slightly and repeated the process with Mitchell, although she was careful to avoid the bleeding gash on the Colonel's forehead. Finally she backed away a step and smiled a true smile of welcome.

"They're all clean, Sir. No Gou'ld."

Anderson nodded, and straightened up a bit, realizing that it a was a General that was holding him steady, and Hammond turned to Mitchell, who was still tightly held by O'Neill, and was leaning into his side gratefully.

"Colonel Mitchell, where have you and SG2 been?"

"Walking, Sir," she answered, forcing herself a little more upright.

Realizing that they were both hurt and needed to be looked at, Hammond simply nodded, and beckoned towards the waiting medics. "We'll debrief in an hour, unless I hear otherwise from Doctor Fraiser."

"Yes Sir," came the response from both of them. Hammond left the Gate room, and Jack gave Mitchell a quick hug. "God, I'm glad to see you. You have no idea how worried I was about you!"

Mitchell smiled, touched by his show of affection, "I have a good idea," she said. "I'd have been just as worried if it had been you."

"The walk was one thing, but not shooting back when you're fired at is another matter entirely," Anderson said as they walked out of the gate room and down the hall.

"Not firing back?" Jack asked. "What do you mean?"

"Just what it sounds like, Jack," Mitchell answered, unwilling to get into a long story when all she really wanted was a chance to get an aspirin for the pounding in her head. "Why don't you come to the debriefing? I'll bet you find it interesting."

"I'll do that," O'Neill said as they reached the door to the infirmary and he released his firm hold on Mitchell when another medic stepped forward to take her.

"Bring your team. They might find it interesting as well, and I have a few questions for Doctor Jackson."

"You got it." Although he had a million more questions, O'Neill left the room then, knowing that Fraiser wouldn't let him stay even if he wanted to. Instead, he went to round up the rest of his team, knowing that if Melony thought he'd find their debriefing interesting, he would.


	2. 02

In the end, it was more than an hour before Mitchell and Anderson made it to the debriefing room, but no one berated them for it. They walked in together and Anderson, who'd been limping, painfully slid into the closest chair. Mitchell looked just as bad; a fresh bandage covering the gash on her forehead, and a gleaming white cast on her right wrist, but she smiled slightly as she sat down in the chair between Anderson and O'Neill.  
  
"Sorry we're late, Sir," she said to Hammond.  
  
"No problem, Colonel. Where is the rest of your team?"  
  
Mitchell scowled, "Frazier wouldn't release them. Simmons is down for at least a couple weeks with a bad shoulder wound, and Williams was knocked out cold and is probably going to need surgery on his knee."  
  
"What happened to your team, Colonel?"  
  
"We were ambushed, Sir. Right after we came through the gate."  
  
"Ambushed? By whom?"  
  
"Jafar, Sir. A lot of them. I don't know if they were waiting for us when they saw the MALF or if they just happened to be in the right spot at the right time. Either way, they ambushed us and had us pinned down. We didn't have a chance."  
  
"What happened?" Hammond asked.  
  
"Well... some of the Jafar that were firing on us... began to disappear."  
  
"Disappear?" Jackson, who had been quietly listening, suddenly spoke up in disbelief.  
  
"That's what happened," Anderson said, shrugging. "One minute we're getting our asses handed to us, the next minute they're vanishing left and right."  
  
"And then whatever it was that got them, got us," Mitchell said.  
  
"What?"  
  
Mitchell shrugged, "That's what happened. One minute we're by the gate, the next minute we're in the middle of some field in God only knows where."  
  
"How did that happen?"  
  
"We're not sure, Sir. Luckily we were sent there together, and without any of the Jafar. Simmons and Anderson both took hits in the initial ambush, and Anderson dropped his M-1 so we were short a weapon as it was. Not that we had a ton of ammunition left after the initial attack anyway."  
  
It was Anderson's turn to scowl at the mention of losing his weapon, and Mitchell caught the look and grinned slightly.  
  
"How did that happen?" Asked Hammond.  
  
Mitchell shook her head, "We're not sure, Sir. We had a lot of time to discuss it on our way back to the Stargate, but all we have are theories, nothing more."  
  
"Such as?"  
  
"Maybe someone didn't want us near their gate, and they kicked us away."  
  
"But the Jafar had time to setup an ambush, " Teal'c stated. "That means they were there at least a short time. Certainly long enough to be kicked away by these people."  
  
Anderson nodded, as did Mitchell, who said, "Yeah, we came up with that, too. Doesn't make sense, does it? Another thing we thought was that maybe it was an automatic program, designed to keep people from firing weapons around the gate. If the Jafar were setting up an ambush, they weren't firing their weapons, which wouldn't have triggered the program." "Like Thor's hammer?" O'Neill asked?  
  
"That makes more sense," Said Carter, who'd been listening intently. "How did you find your way back to the gate, though? I mean, you were zapped to God only knows where, without any reference points. How did you find your way back?"  
  
"It was brilliant," Anderson said, before Mitchell could speak up. "The colonel rigged up one of the radios to monitor EM spikes, and then we just waited for someone to open the gate."  
  
"I didn't do the work," Mitchell protested, "I just came up with the idea. Simmons is the tech-head."  
  
"So you waited for someone to open the gate, then correlated the direction the EM wave came from and walked that way?" Carter asked. "That's brilliant." Coming from Carter, this was high praise indeed.  
  
"Yeah, well.. like I said, it was my idea, but Simmons did all the work."  
  
"How did you know the gate was going to open?" Jackson asked. Mitchell and O'Neill both snorted at the same time.  
  
"There's no way I wouldn't have come looking for her," Jack said.  
  
"Exactly," agreed Mitchell. "I knew if SG1 wasn't sent, someone would be, it was just a matter of time."  
  
"Besides," added Anderson, "The Gould have those gate finder things and they'd be able to get to the gate and open it at least once before we did." 


	3. 03

"So you found the gate and then what? You were ambushed again?"  
  
"Yes, Sir." Mitchell said. "Either the same ones, or different ones. This time, though, we were expecting something, and I didn't let the others fire back Just in case we were right and it was weapons fire that triggered the device. And I kept the radio that looked for EM waves."  
  
"Smart." Jack said. "Better one of you lost than four. And the others could come back and find you with reinforcements." It was exactly what he would have done if it had been SG1 out there.  
  
Mitchell nodded.  
  
"So you've been walking for the last month?" asked Hammond.  
  
"We had injuries," Mitchell said, "And we weren't sure exactly where we were going."  
  
"We did come looking for you," O'Neill said softly. "More than once."  
  
"I never doubted it for a minute Jack," Mitchell said, tiredly. "We were a long way out, though, and we knew we had to make it back on our own."  
  
"And make it back you did!" Hammond said, smiling broadly, unable to hide his pride and relief. "SG-2 is on recovery leave until further notice."  
  
"Actually, Sir," Colonel Mitchell said, holding up a hand. "We found something interesting, and I'd like permission to go back and check it out."  
  
"Are you nuts?" Asked Jack, incredulously. "There's Jaffa waiting for you."  
  
"They're probably gone," Mitchell said dismissively. She gestured to Anderson, who handed her a small stack of rumpled paper that was covered in drawings and sketches. "We found a small pyramid in a forest on our way back here," she said, taking the top paper off the stack, looking at it for a second, then handing it directly to Jackson, who looked at the sketch in surprise. "If I'm not mistaken, Dr. Jackson, that writing is the Ancient's, isn't it?"  
  
"Yes," Jackson said, laying the paper down and pointing at another row of characters. "This isn't though."  
  
"No, we didn't think so, either. Wilson thought it might be some kind of Chinese or Japanese, but it's nothing I've seen before. Which is why we copied it down to bring it back. Along with a lot of other stuff we saw."  
  
Jackson looked at Mitchell, "Did you go in the pyramid?"  
  
"No, we had too many other things on our minds, and we didn't have the supplies to stick around any one place for too long. I can find it again, though."  
  
"I'd really like to check it out, General." Jackson told Hammond.  
  
"Me, too, Sir." Mitchell said.  
  
"You just got back," Hammond protested. "You need some rest."  
  
"No, Sir. I'm not injured that badly, and a good night's sleep and I'll be ready."  
  
"Me, too, Sir." Said Anderson, who had no intention of letting his commanding officer go back to that planet without him.  
  
Hammond was silent for a minute, considering, then nodded, "If Doctor Fraiser clears you for duty, I'll authorize the mission, with SG1, since your team is two short."  
  
"Yes, Sir," Said Mitchell.  
  
"Yes, Sir," Parroted O'Neill, who didn't really want to go check the pyramid out, but, like Anderson, he had no intention of allowing Melony to go back to that place without him as backup.  
  
Hammond stood up, "Get a good meal and a good night's sleep, and we'll do a pre check in the morning."  
  
He left and Daniel stood up to come around to the other side of the table, his eyes on the stack of paper in front of Anderson.  
  
"What else do you have there?" he asked. Mitchell handed him the next sheet.  
  
"We weren't sure of the languages, Doctor Jackson, but we think there were five or six different ones. Or just a couple different versions of the same ones. Who knows? We recognized the Ancient's, and I'm pretty sure that one is Samarian, however, not all the ideograms are right. But I'll be the first to admit I'm hardly a expert."  
  
"No, you're right, it's not exactly Samarian. Maybe a dialect of it, or something. I'm not sure." He stared at the paper, lost in thought, and O'Neill stood up and went to stand behind Mitchell, his hands on her shoulders. "Come on, you're supposed to get something to eat and get some sleep. Daniel can go over all that later. You too, Anderson, go get some dinner and then hit the rack."  
  
"Yes, Sir." Anderson got to his feet slowly, pain obvious in every motion, and limped out the door.  
  
"He took a nasty hit," Mitchell said as soon as the Major was out the door. "The first couple days I wasn't sure he was going to make it."  
  
"He made it, and so did you," Jack said, smiling. "Let's go get something to eat."  
  
Mitchell stood up, just as slowly as Anderson had, and gestured to all the papers, "You can take that stuff, Doctor Jackson. Just don't lose it."  
  
Daniel grinned and gathered it all up into a neat stack, "Thanks, Colonel Mitchell, I'll take good care of it." Without another word, he left the room, apparently heading for his quarters.  
  
O'Neill looked at Carter and Teal'c. "You two going to come eat with us?"  
  
Carter shook her head, "If we're leaving tomorrow, I need to get some things done tonight. You go on without me."  
  
"I will join you," Teal'c said, standing up and walking over to the other side of the table to stand next to Mitchell. 


	4. 04

"I'm glad to hear that," Mitchell said with a grin as she threw her right arm over the Jaffa's broad shoulders, careful not to brain him with her cast. "I could really use someone else to lean on, and I wasn't about to let Hammond know."  
  
Jack grinned and took the other side and the three of them walked slowly down to the commissary, where Jack sat her and Teal'c down at a table to the side and went to get enough food for all three of them. Mitchell sighed, and rubbed her forehead tiredly.  
  
"You look tired, Colonel Mitchell. Are you certain you are well enough to return toP14-502?"  
  
"I'm probably not," she admitted, opening her eyes and looking at the Jaffa. "But I'll feel a lot better after I've had something to eat and a good night's sleep, and I don't want to miss out on seeing this pyramid."  
  
"Understandable."  
  
O'Neill came back with a tray loaded with food and handed a plate to Mitchell who began to eat hungrily.  
  
"What did you guys do once your MREs ran out?" Jack asked.  
  
"We stretched them as long as we could, then we were stuck with just what we could find growing. Mostly this weird apple-like fruit."  
  
"A month of only eating apples?" he mused. "No wonder you look like shit."  
  
Mitchell grinned, both at Jack's response, and at the look Teal'c gave her, and shook her head, "We didn't see a lot of living creatures, and even if we had, we didn't know what was intelligent and what wasn't."  
  
"Not to mention that it would have been a bad idea to fire your weapons, in case the anti weapon program extended beyond the gate area."  
  
"Exactly." She fell silent and began to eat once more, but it was soon obvious that she was far more exhausted than she was hungry. Her bites were fewer and further between and it was obvious she was having trouble keeping her eyes open.  
  
"Bedtime, I think," Jack said, his dark eyes soft as he watched her try to stay awake. It was a measure of just how tired she was that she didn't argue with him, she merely nodded and stood up. The promptly sat back down again as the room began to spin.  
  
"Teal'c," Jack said, gesturing towards the sleepy Colonel. The Jaffa picked Mitchell up easily and cradled her in his powerful arms as they left the Commissary and headed for the BOQ.  
  
"Perhaps we should delay our departure another day?" Teal'c asked, looking down at Mitchell, who'd fallen asleep immediately.  
  
"Nah, she's not hurt, or Frasier would never have released her. She's just tired, and a good night sleep will take care of most of that."  
  
They walked into a small room that held a bed, a nightstand a desk and a lamp, and O'Neil lwent over and pulled the blankets and sheet down so Teal'c could put her on the bed. Then it was simply a matter of removing her boots and tucking her in. As he pulled the blankets up to her chin, Jack smiled softly at the sleeping young woman and kissed her forehead gently.  
  
"Welcome home, Melony," he whispered, then he and Teal'c left her to her nap.  
  
Closing the door softly behind him, Teal'c looked at O'Neill. "You and Colonel Mitchell are very close." It was a statement, not a question, but Jack answered it anyways.  
  
"Yeah. I've known her a long time. Her brother and I served in the Gulf War together."  
  
"He's in the Air Force?"  
  
"He was," O'Neill said softly. "He was killed. Shot by a guy that was aiming at me until Mike shouted for me to get the hell out of the way and took the fire for me." Jack paused, remembering, then shrugged, "I don't know what hurt more; losing him, or telling Melony that I was responsible for her brother's death."  
  
"It was his choice." Teal'c said.  
  
"Yeah, that's what Melony said, too. And I know she's right, but it doesn't make it hurt any less. She was in the Air Force academy at the time, less than a year from graduating, and I made sure to keep in touch with her more than I had before. Mike was the only family she had left."  
  
"Was it you that got her into the SGC?"  
  
"Yeah. She's smart. Not Carter smart, but way smarter than I am, and she deserved the chance. Not just because we're friends, either." He paused again, but continued a moment later, "I was out of my mind with worry when she and SG-2 came up missing."  
  
"I remember, although I didn't understand at the time why."  
  
"Well, she's back now, thank God, and I can stop worrying. More or less." He slapped Teal'c on the shoulder, more than ready to change the subject. "Get some sleep, I'll see you in the morning."  
  
Aware that he'd learned something that was very personal about his friend, Teal'c smiled and headed for his quarters.  
  
The next morning when Jack came to the commissary for breakfast, he found Colonel Mitchell sitting at a table with a crowd of early risers, all eating breakfast and chatting with her. Most of the people around the table were Marines, who were responsible for the security of the SGC, but there were also a few members of different SG units, including Daniel and Carter. Jack knew that Melony was a favorite with the Marines on the base, mainly because they liked her cocky attitude and her good-natured sarcasm. It was one of the things he himself liked the most about her. He gathered a huge breakfast and walked over, just as a story was ending to a loud round of laughter.  
  
"Good morning everyone," Jack said as he pulled a chair up to sit next to Mitchell.  
  
"Good morning Sir," came the replies.  
  
"Morning, Jack," said Mitchell, grinning up at him. She looked a lot better than she had the night before, although she still looked tired. It was obvious that one night's sleep and two meals weren't going to be enough to erase the damage done by the last month. But it was a good start.  
  
"How are you feeling?"  
  
"I'm fine. Just finished breakfast and was telling everyone of the fine dining on P14-502." He smiled and shook his head.  
  
"How'd you sleep?"  
  
"Great. I don't even remember going to bed."  
  
"That is because you fell asleep while I carried you." They both looked up and saw that Teal'c had come up to stand behind them.  
  
"Well, that explains it," Colonel Mitchell said with a smile.  
  
"Indeed." Teal'c gave a slight smile, unable to completely resist Mitchell's good mood. "General Hammond wishes to see SG1, and SG2. Those that are going to P14-502, that is."  
  
Jack sighed and looked down at his uneaten breakfast. "Immediately, I suppose?"  
  
"That is what he said."  
  
O'Neill stood up, as did Mitchell, Carter and Jackson, but Mitchell swiped the toast off Jack's plate as she did so. "I'll go get Anderson, Jack, and meet you four there."  
  
Jack nodded and took a piece of his toast from her.  
  
"You do that, we'll see you soon."  
  
He and his team went one way down the hall and Mitchell, still munching on O'Neill's toast, went the other way. 


	5. 05

As before, it was Mitchell and Anderson that kept the others waiting, but once again there were no complaints as the two of them walked into the briefing room about twenty minutes later. Anderson looked a lot better than he had the night before, and his limp was considerably lessoned. Mitchell was eating an orange. One that most likely had been peeled by Anderson, since he knew from experiences how hard it was to peel anything with a cast on your arm. She sat down next to O'Neill and Anderson sat beside her.  
  
"Sorry we're late, Sir. We stopped by to check on the others."  
  
"How are they?" Jack asked. Hammond already knew, since his first stop that morning had been the infirmary to check on SG2, and to make sure that Frazier didn't have a problem with clearing Mitchell and Anderson for another trip through the gate.  
  
"Wilson looks better already, Simmons was asleep. Neither are going to be joining us anytime soon."  
  
Hammond nodded, since that was what Frazier had told him, and he cleared his throat. "Are you two sure you can find this pyramid?"  
  
"Yes, Sir." Mitchell said, nodding. "We knew when we found it that we'd eventually want to come back and check it out, so we all made sure to keep landmarks and distances clear in our heads."  
  
"How far from the gate is it?"  
  
Mitchell thought for a moment, then shrugged, "It took us about a week to get from the pyramid to the gate, but we were in pretty sore shape by then, and weren't able to make very good time. I figure we could get there in a couple days. No more than three, most likely."  
  
"And if there's an ambush waiting for you?"  
  
"I doubt there will be, Sir." Mitchell said. "Probably the ones who set the last ambush were zapped away from the gate. If not, then they're gone, figuring we're not coming back. Why would we?"  
  
"But if there are?"  
  
"Then we'll be ready for them, and hope we get zapped into the same area that we did last time, and we'll be ready for it this time. More supplies, better tracking equipment."  
  
It was obvious she'd thought it through, and Hammond looked at O'Neill to see if he had anything to add. He shook his head. Melony had summed it all up nicely.  
  
"Sounds right to me, Sir."  
  
Hammond nodded, "You'll take two weeks worth of supplies with you, and once you get to the pyramid you'll have a week to explore the area. If you find anything bring it back. If it's too big to transport, then remember where you found it and we'll send another team to look at it when you return. Radio in when you've cleared the Stargate so we know you haven't been transported anyplace, and if we don't hear from you in two weeks, we'll send the remaining members of SG2 along with a couple teams to come find you. Any questions?"  
  
There was silence all around, and Hammond nodded and stood up. Colonel O'Neill, Colonel Mitchell, report to supplies and gather what your teams will need, the rest of you, you'll be departing at 1300 hours."  
  
He left the room and the others all sat there for a moment longer before Mitchell slapped Anderson's shoulder. "You're excused to go and get something to eat, Anderson. Frazier made it quite clear that she wants you and I to stuff ourselves every chance we get."  
  
"I don't mind, Colonel," Anderson said with a grin as he stood up, still stiffly, but without the grimace of pain that had been there the day before. "I've been hungry, and I've been full, and I much prefer full. Make sure you don't get anything with apples in it when you get our food supplies."  
  
His commanding officer's laughter followed him out of the room as he walked off, and Mitchell stood up as well. "I'll see you guys in the gate room. Jack, I'll meet you in supply whenever you're ready."  
  
O'Neill stood, "Let's go now, before I forget about the apple injunction. Then we can go get some breakfast."  
  
"I've already had breakfast." Mitchell said with a smile.  
  
"Yeah, well, you can have an early brunch or you can watch me eat. I'm hungry."  
  
~*~  
  
They didn't need to spend much time in supply. Both colonels were adept at requisitioning supplies by now, and they both knew what they needed. Melony didn't bother getting herself a rifle, knowing that with her broken wrist she wouldn't be able to fire one anyways. She did, however, get a spare .45, which she attached to her ankle with a holster while O'Neill pulled supplies for his team.  
  
They made sure the packs weren't too large, but that they had everything they needed, then left them in a stack for a couple of airmen to carry to the gate room.  
  
Lunch was almost as boisterous as breakfast had been. The marines that hadn't heard about the safe return of SG-2 the day before were finding out when they came on shift, and all of them made a point to seek out Mitchell and welcome her and her team back. She sat and watched Jack eat, occasionally stealing something off his plate, and chatted with the people who came by. Carter and Daniel came and joined them a while later, and Teal'c and Anderson eventually found themselves seated at the table as well, although Anderson had already eaten, so he was just there for the company.  
  
"Are we ready?" O'Neill asked, looking at his watch after he finished his lunch.  
  
There were nods all around, and they all headed for the Gate room, where they picked up their supplies. Hammond was there, watching as they prepared, and giving them last minute instructions.  
  
"If there's no ambush, send the MALP back. If we don't hear from you, we'll assume the worst, and give you two weeks to contact us before we send SG- 2."  
  
"Yes, Sir."  
  
Jack looked at the other members of his team, and noticed that Mitchell was holding her Beretta in her left hand, already cocked and ready. Of course, if there were an ambush, she'd only have the one gun before she had to go to the backup she had strapped to her ankle. He pulled out his own handgun and handed it to her.  
  
"Just in case, okay?" He told her.  
  
She smiled and nodded, and slid it into her belt. Then looked over her shoulder at the command center behind the blast doors.  
  
"We're ready, Sir." She called, letting Hammond know to order the gate dialed up. 


	6. 06

There was no ambush. Either the Jaffa that had been there had decided that SG-2 wasn't coming back, or they'd decided that if SG-2 did return, they'd return with enough force to make an ambush unwise. Especially since there was no way they'd be able to surprise a team after ambushing them twice before. Whatever the reason, the teams didn't meet up with any threat when they came through.  
  
"Clear, Jack." Mitchell said from the left, where her gaze (and sidearm) was focused, looking for anything that was moving that might be a perceived threat.  
  
"Clear here, too, Sir," Carter called from the right.  
  
Anderson was with Daniel, and they, too, waved an all clear from their forward position.  
  
"They appear to have vacated the vicinity, O'Neill," Teal'c said from beside Jack. He nodded, and stepped down off the Gate platform.  
  
"Carter, dial home and send the MALP back. Let Hammond know we didn't get ambushed and we're heading for the pyramid."  
  
He beckoned Mitchell and Anderson over.  
  
"Which way?"  
  
Mitchell and Anderson both pointed towards a far away stand of trees. The ground between there and where they were seemed to be fairly flat. In fact, it looked a lot like Kansas to Jack.  
  
"It took us most of a day to get here from there," Mitchell said, as she handed Jack's Beretta back to him. "But we were slowed by our injuries. It shouldn't be more than ten hours or so for us, now."  
  
"Do we have that much daylight?"  
  
The two looked up at the sun, and shook their heads.  
  
"No. You're looking at four hours of daylight before the sun goes down, but the nights last a little longer here than they do on Earth. Days do, too."  
  
Jack nodded. It was helpful that the two of them had spent so much time on the planet. They'd already made observations that Jack could use to decide how much traveling they'd do each day, and the two knew what dangers were lurking around them, because they'd faced them. And with far less gear than they had now.  
  
He watched as Carter returned the probe, and then gathered his little band to let them know what he wanted.  
  
"We've got four hours of daylight, kids, so we'll walk until we can't see, then we'll set up a perimeter and camp for the night. The night's are..." He looked at Mitchell.  
  
"Roughly fourteen hours long."  
  
"Fourteen hours?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Fourteen hours long, so we'll have plenty of time to get settled."  
  
"Could we not travel in the darkness?" Teal'c asked.  
  
Mitchell shook her head. "We tried it, but there's a lot of rough ground between here and the trees and it's dark enough that you can't see where you're going. I can't count how many times we tripped and fell. Of course, we didn't have the luxury of flashlights by then. Our batteries were long dead."  
  
"We'll see what happens when it starts to get dark," Jack said. He wasn't anxious to lose so much travel time, but he wasn't going to risk letting someone fall and break something in the dark, either. "We're heading for those trees," O'Neill said, pointing. "Teal'c, take point with Anderson."  
  
The big Jaffa and the young Major set off. Jack would use Anderson as a gauge of how far to go before calling for a break. SG-1 was in fine shape, but Mitchell and Anderson weren't recovered yet, and though he knew neither of them would say a word to complain, Jack wasn't going to drive them into the ground to get them someplace he had a week to get to.  
  
Daniel fell in beside Mitchell as they started walking. The Archeologist had a million questions about the pyramid he wanted to ask. Unfortunately for him, Jack had a lot of questions of his own, and they took precedence.  
  
"Melony? You and your team didn't see anything that could pose a threat?"  
  
"Nothing, Jack." She said, giving Daniel an apologetic look. "There're bugs, but they don't even bite. We didn't see birds, or any animals, but we heard things moving in the dark, that might have been nocturnal animals. Nothing came after us, though."  
  
"Perhaps they were afraid of the fires you lit?" Daniel suggested.  
  
"We didn't have any wood when we were out here, Doctor Jackson. There's nothing to burn but grass, and it doesn't burn, it just curls up and goes out. By that time we didn't have any fuel for out sternos, either. We just set a guard and hoped for the best."  
  
"Well, we're going to do a little better than that," O'Neill said.  
  
"Good. Not that I'm afraid of the dark, but it's fairly spooky listening to things moving around in the night and not having anything but a gun you're afraid to fire."  
  
"I bet."  
  
~*~  
  
They walked the entire four hours that Mitchell gave them. Anderson was holding up better than Jack had expected, and Mitchell hadn't said a word in complaint, even when Jack asked her directly if she was getting tired. She just shook her head, and continued walking. O'Neill decided that if they were able, he'd keep them going until dark, then let them rest while SG-1 set up camp. The ground was rough, like Mitchell had said. Even in the daylight Jack had tripped a couple times, and Daniel had went down once, cursing at whatever it was that had tripped him up. Jack could understand what SG-2 had went through trying to take that route in the dark, and could understand Mitchell's reluctance to try it again.  
  
When he called a stop, he set Carter on watch, and ordered Mitchell and Anderson to take a break while the rest of them got everything set up. It was a measure of just how tired they were that neither of them even raised a protest. They just took off their packs, and flopped down. Mitchell sprawled completely, using her pack as a pillow, and Anderson wasn't looking much better. He found a rock and leaned against that, closing his eyes and sighing.  
  
"You two all right?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Yes, Sir."  
  
They both fell asleep before camp was set up, and Jack didn't bother to wake them to eat. He just covered them both with blankets, and went out to take a watch. They could eat when they woke up. 


	7. 07

Mitchell woke a while later, opening her eyes and looking up at stars that she'd come to know very well the last month. She looked at the watch on her wrist and saw that she'd been asleep for more than 6 hours, which was about right considering the position of the stars above. They'd learned the stars fairly well. There wasn't a whole lot else to do when you're sitting in the dark, listening to noises and waiting for the sun to come up. She knew there was another seven hours or so of pitch darkness before the sky began to lighten a bit with the coming dawn.  
  
Someone had built a fire, though. It wasn't a big blaze, but it cut through the darkness of the night in ways that they'd only wished for their first time around. Feeling very old, and not a little stiff and sore, Mitchell got up to see about taking over a watch for someone, and maybe getting a bite to eat. She saw that Teal'c was sacked out near by, although he didn't look to be sleeping all that soundly, and there was another empty bedroll nearby. Wondering who had the watches, she decided finding out would wait long enough for her to get something to eat.  
  
The meal was easy enough. There were plenty of MREs and a lot of dried fruit. She avoided the apples, but did grab up a bag of banana chips, feeling too stiff and sore to bother making an MRE.  
  
"Colonel Mitchell?" She turned and saw Daniel Jackson coming over to stand next to her.  
  
"You can call me Melony, Dr. Jackson." It wasn't like he was in the military, after all, and he wasn't in her chain of command. There wasn't any need for formality as far as she was concerned.  
  
"Jack said when you woke up to tell you that you and Major Anderson are excused from watch and that he'd rather you slept as much as possible."  
  
"He did?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
Yeah, that sounded like Jack. However, that meant that he and his team were going to be spreading themselves thin, and they had a long day tomorrow as well.  
  
"Where is he?"  
  
Jackson pointed off towards the darkness beyond the fire somewhat to their left, and she nodded. "Thanks."  
  
She left him and walked out into the darkness, tripping once – which was nothing new for this planet.  
  
"You'd better be sleep walking."  
  
The voice was Jack's. The tone was only half-joking.  
  
"I just woke up."  
  
"Did you get my message?"  
  
"Not to take a watch? Yes."  
  
"Why aren't you sleeping then?"  
  
"Because I'm used to not sleeping."  
  
"You look beat."  
  
"You can't see me."  
  
"You sound beat. Go back to bed."  
  
"I can take a watch, Jack." She told him. True, Hammond had put him in charge of the mission, and Mitchell understood the chain of command as well as anyone, but she also knew that a fourteen-hour night was a long one. "Seriously. It's better on this planet to do a few shorter watches through the night than a couple of long ones. Give me this set, then I'll sleep again after you've had a chance to rest." She paused, knowing he was thinking it through, and then added the coup de grace. "You do trust me to watch your six while you're sleeping, don't you?"  
  
"You know I do," he told her, scowling. She couldn't see the scowl, of course – not this far from the fire – but she heard it in his voice.  
  
"So, go get some sleep. There's nothing out here I haven't dealt with."  
  
"Fine." He'd thought it over and had conceded the fact that she knew this place better than he did, and knew the best way to stand a watch for the weird hours. It was a rare instance when she – or anyone else – could get him to change his mind, but she didn't say that. "Wake me in 4 hours."  
  
"Will do." She looked down at her watch.  
  
"And eat something, before Fraiser comes through the gate and has my hide for starving you."  
  
"I have some fruit with me. I can eat and watch."  
  
He passed her in the dark, but didn't say anything as he went back to the fire. She appreciated that. Jack was a mother hen, and it was a good trait for a commanding officer to have – she knew she had that same streak of protectiveness – but once he told you he trusted you, he proved it by leaving you alone and letting you do your job without him hovering over you. Her brother Mike had been like that, too, she remembered.  
  
Munching on her dried bananas, Mitchell stood her watch, listening to the sound of the creatures that moved out in the night, but knowing that whatever they were, they weren't going to harm her or the people she was with. They hadn't the first time she was here, and she couldn't think of any reason they would this time. She did, however, run her hand along the butt of her Beretta, just to make sure it was loose in the holster. It was always better to be safe than sorry.  
  
~*~  
  
They moved out again as soon as it was light enough to see the ground and make out the trees ahead. Jack had Anderson walking with Teal'c on point once more, but this time it was Jackson that was with Mitchell. The archeologist was taking advantage of that fact and was asking her question after question about the pyramid they were looking for. Mitchell wasn't an archeologist. She didn't know the different styles of pyramid building, and she didn't know the difference between a steppe pyramid and a stone pyramid, so she had the feeling she wasn't as much help as he'd hoped. This was proven fairly quickly when Daniel stopped asking her questions and pulled out the sheaf of notes that she and the rest of SG-2 had made. He could study the drawings and answer his own questions far better than she could.  
  
As Daniel lagged back a little – because reading notes and walking on rugged ground weren't that easy – Jack came over once more to walk with Mitchell, leaving Carter to take rear and make sure Jackson didn't lag too far behind the others.  
  
"Did he suck your brains dry?"  
  
"Doctor Jackson?" She asked, grinning.  
  
"Yeah. He told me he wanted a chance to ask you questions."  
  
"I'm not much help, I think." She looked over her shoulder. "I didn't even understand half his questions."  
  
"Which is about twice as many more of them than I would have."  
  
Mitchell grinned, knowing better. He played dumb, but he wasn't, and she knew it.  
  
"How long until we get to the trees?"  
  
"About three hours at this pace, probably."  
  
"Nothing in there that will eat us?"  
  
"Nah. Lots of trees, some of them are those apple trees I was telling you about, but most are just trees. They don't grow all that close, so we'll still be able to see what's going on around us. It might not hurt to keep everyone a little closer though." You never knew.  
  
"Yeah, we can do that." Jack nodded. "You holding up okay?"  
  
"I'm fine, mom."  
  
"And Anderson?"  
  
"He's fine, too."  
  
"Just checking. Let me know when you need a break."  
  
"I will."  
  
She'd fall over dead first, and Jack knew it. But he figured they'd take a break at the edge of the trees anyways. 


	8. 08

"How's the leg, Brad?"  
  
Anderson looked up, and smiled at his commanding officer. It was a sign of just how concerned she was about him that she'd addressed him by his first name, and he was quick to reassure.  
  
"I'm fine, Colonel."  
  
She squatted down next to him. The group had just made the tree line, and Jack had called a halt to take a break for a while, and get a feel for the differences between the wooded area and the plains.  
  
"We're making good time, but that doesn't mean I want to run us into the ground." Translated, that meant she wasn't going to let him drive himself too hard to keep up with SG-1, who were in much better shape than the remnants of SG-2.  
  
"Nah, I'm really okay. The more I walk, the more it loosens up."  
  
Mitchell nodded, and Anderson turned the tables on her.  
  
"How's the wrist?"  
  
"Don't even start." She told him, reaching over and pretending to whack him with the casted wrist. He grinned and dodged it, holding his hands up in mock surrender.  
  
"Yes, Ma'am."  
  
"Yeah, and don't start that, either," she scolded him, putting her good hand on his shoulder and using it to brace herself to stand up. She felt pretty stiff, still, although it wasn't from the walking, it was from spraining her ankle tripping over something during their walk that morning, although she'd hid the fact fairly well.  
  
Jack walked over, looking down at Anderson, and then at Mitchell.  
  
"How are you two holding up?"  
  
"We're fine."  
  
"Fine, Sir."  
  
"Uh huh." He took a drink of water from his canteen. "How far to the pyramid from here?"  
  
"I'm not sure, Jack." Mitchell told him. "We've made pretty good time – a lot better than I thought we would, even. I'd have guessed a few days, but at this pace, maybe only one or two."  
  
"The trees will slow us down, though, won't they?"  
  
Anderson shook his head the same time Mitchell did.  
  
"No. We'll make better time, because the ground is a lot smoother in the wooded area. The roots of these trees go down into the ground, instead of spreading out. We won't be tripping over as many things in here."  
  
"Good." Jack was tired of watching his feet so diligently. "How much more daylight?"  
  
"A ton."  
  
Anderson nodded. "At least another 15 hours, Sir."  
  
"Really?" That was a long day. Of course he wasn't going to do any forced marching, not with these two looking so tired already. And Jack hadn't missed the way Melony was babying her left ankle, either. Besides, they had a lot of time, and were – as Mitchell said – making much better time than they'd originally expected.  
  
"I told you they were longer."  
  
"Yeah, I know." He looked at the others who were coming over to flop down as well, although they didn't look too tired. Walking was nothing new to you if you were on an SG team, that was for sure. "We've got a lot of daylight still, guys, and these two are telling me that we'll find walking a lot easier in the woods, so we'll make better time now."  
  
"How much further?" Daniel asked. Everyone knew he was more anxious than anyone else to get to their destination, which only made sense.  
  
"Couple days. Maybe less." Mitchell answered the question since he'd directed it at her.  
  
"That long?"  
  
"It took us almost two weeks to get from the pyramid to the Stargate, Doctor Jackson." Anderson told him, coming to Mitchell's defense automatically. Like it was her fault they were that far away.  
  
Jack stepped in, realizing that it wasn't anything personal, but unwilling to allow an argument to develop. "We'll get there, Daniel."  
  
Mitchell stepped in as well, and rested her casted hand on Anderson's shoulder. She wasn't taking Doctor Jackson's comment personally; there was no reason he should. And she knew if he wasn't as tired as he was – and wasn't hiding it – he never would have jumped on Jackson like that. "We didn't know exactly which way we were going then, but we do now, so we'll make good time."  
  
Both of the younger men nodded, and they exchanged a glance that was both apology and acceptance of the other's apology at the same time.  
  
"I'd like to see one of these apple trees," Carter said, looking up.  
  
"Not me." Anderson said, grinning.  
  
"Oh, you'll see plenty, Major." Mitchell assured her. "And you're more than welcome to my share of the fruit."  
  
"Mine, too."  
  
"You guys ready to get going?" Jack asked.  
  
"Whenever you are, Sir." Anderson told him, reaching a hand up to his commanding officer, who pulled him to his feet easily with her unbroken hand.  
  
"Melony? You and Daniel take point, okay?" She'd warned him that it might be a good idea to keep the group a little closer together once they'd hit the trees, and if Daniel was on point he wouldn't lag behind looking at SG- 2's notes. Instead, he could ask Mitchell questions she didn't understand. "Anderson, you have center with Carter, Teal'c and I'll take the rear."  
  
There were nods all around, and the small group shouldered their packs once more and headed out. 


	9. 09

"It doesn't look much like an apple."  
  
"I never said they did, Jack. They taste like apples, though."  
  
The group had made another stop. This time they'd stopped right under one of the trees that grew the fruit that Anderson and Mitchell had been telling SG-1 about, and the newcomers to the planet couldn't help but be curious about them. Curious enough that Carter had climbed up into the tree and dropped a few of them down for the others to try. Anderson had just shuddered and walked off, mumbling about never eating another apple in his life. He was now sitting propped up against a tree truck about twenty feet away, munching happily on a candy bar from an MRE. (A/N: MRE = Meal Ready to Eat – it usually comes with a complete meal, including a dessert, instant coffee, Tabasco sauce, all sorts of stuff like that – I should have explained that earlier, sorry)  
  
"Really?"  
  
"More than anything else." She shrugged. "It definitely isn't an orange."  
  
Daniel had already shined his up against his shirt and had taken a bite, always eager to try new things.  
  
"It does taste like an apple."  
  
Sam took a tentative bite of the one she was holding, and chewed it thoughtfully.  
  
"He's right, Sir. Try it." She handed Jack hers, but O'Neill scowled. He didn't like apples all that much anyways, and wasn't all that keen on new things. Besides, Mitchell was giving the thing a look that plainly spoke volumes for her own opinion of the thing and it would be hard to enjoy something with someone else looking at it like it was poisoned.  
  
"Go ahead, Sir," Anderson called, cheerfully, waving the Snickers bar he was eating. "It won't kill you." No one heard the silent mutter that followed, mainly because the young Major had taken another bite of his candy bar.  
  
Teal'c was looking at Daniel oddly, and the Archeologist looked back at him as he took another huge bite. He found the fruit pretty good. "What?"  
  
"I am waiting to see if you begin looking like shit, Daniel Jackson."  
  
Anderson choked on his candy bar. Jack choked on the bite of fruit he'd just taken and Sam, Daniel and Mitchell all just stared.  
  
"What?"  
  
"O'Neill said that Colonel Mitchell looked like shit because all she had to eat for a month was this fruit, so I am waiting to-"  
  
"It was a figure of speech, Teal'c," Jack said, grinning.  
  
~*~  
  
The rest of the day was nothing but walking. True, walking in the trees was more interesting than walking on the flat plains, but only a little. It was nice to not trip over everything, and that made the walk a little better, but trees were pretty boring, too. Especially since there weren't any birds or anything all that big to watch in this forest. Daniel had been munching on the fruit as he walked beside Colonel Mitchell, and was asking her all sorts of questions.  
  
Now, though, they weren't about the pyramid, since he had already figured out that she wasn't that much of an expert. He was, instead, asking her about herself. Nothing too personal, since although Daniel was, by nature, curious about everything that was around him, he wasn't nosy. However, she was the most interesting thing in the forest right now. She was about his age, after all, and was obviously intelligent, or she wouldn't be a CO on an SG team. Besides, walking was boring and she was the closest person to him, and the only one he could talk to without needing to raise his voice to be heard.  
  
Mitchell took the inquisition in good stead. She understood the desire to make time go by faster by chatting, although she was also careful to make sure that she kept her eyes open to what was going on around her as well. Not that she was expecting trouble, but it was better to be watching for it than to have it come up and bite you on the ass because you weren't paying attention.  
  
So far, all Daniel knew about her was that she was in her mid thirties, had no pets, no significant other, no family – except her team – and had graduated from the Air Force Academy a few years before joining the SGC. Her favorite color was blue, her favorite food was anything but apples, she hated catching fish but loved to go fishing, and she spoke four languages. That was more than most people knew about her – except for her team, and especially Brad Anderson, who knew her better than anyone. Including – probably – Jack O'Neill. But that was his own secret, and the young Major doubted his CO even knew how much he knew about her.  
  
Mitchell had, in return, heard far more about Daniel than she'd planned to. Part of that was because she was a good listener. She asked questions in the right places, and the questions she asked were, for the most part, intelligent ones. He didn't tell her about his wife – although she knew about her anyways and wouldn't have dreamed of asking anything that personal or painful – and he didn't tell her about his parents. Aside from that, they discussed various missions that SG-1 had been on, various missions SG-2 had been on, and the occasional oddball assignment that might have sprung up for either team.  
  
It was a long day, though, and SG-2 was beginning to flag before the sun was starting to go down. Melony was visibly limping now, and since she was walking on front of O'Neill and Anderson – who were in the center of the group once more – they both had noticed.  
  
"Time to camp for the night, kids." Jack said, finally. "Start looking for a good place, Colonel."  
  
Mitchell nodded, and gestured towards a stand of trees. Really, anyplace was as good as the other as far as she knew.  
  
"Over there, Jack?"  
  
"That's fine."  
  
The group made for the stand of trees, and Mitchell dropped her pack gratefully on the ground. Anderson's followed, and then was joined by Daniel's and the rest as they arrived.  
  
"You two take it easy while we get camp set up."  
  
They didn't argue. Melony sank to the ground willingly, and Anderson looked at her, his tired blue eyes filled with concern. She really looked tired this time. She caught the look and scowled.  
  
"Don't look like that. I'm fine."  
  
"You look awful."  
  
"Just tired."  
  
"What did you do to your leg?"  
  
She scowled again and he knelt by her right side, running his hand along her leg before she could move it.  
  
"Nothing, Brad. I sprained my ankle. Stop that." God, there was nothing worse than a concerned Major clucking over his commanding officer, was there? Then she was proven wrong when Jack came over as well and looked down at her.  
  
"How bad?" He asked. He asked Anderson, though, and not Mitchell. Which made the young Colonel scowl again.  
  
"It's just a sprain. I'm fine."  
  
"No watch tonight, Melony." Jack told her, firmly. "Anderson, get an ice pack out of the medical kit and make sure she ices that ankle."  
  
"Yes, Sir."  
  
He dug through his pack for an instant icepack – they had a lot of them – and broke the seal and shook it up, waiting for it to get cold before handing it over to his commanding officer. Mitchell took it with a sigh of resignation, which only made Anderson smile.  
  
"Want me to bring you something to eat?"  
  
"No." She put the ice pack on her slightly swollen ankle, and leaned against the tree she was sitting next to. "I'm going to sit here and sulk for a while, don't mind me." She was asleep almost immediately, and Anderson wasn't far behind her. It had, after all, been a long day. 


	10. 10

Mitchell and Anderson both slept the night through. Obviously, they weren't quite as up to a long day of walking as they thought they were, although they'd never admit it. Jack knew this, though, since he was the same way – most Military people were – and he decided that since they'd made such good time that day, they'd set a slower pace the next one, just to keep the two from wearing out more than they already had. Twice during the long night, O'Neill changed the ice pack on Mitchell's ankle, once when he went onto his watch, and the next time when he came off it. Consequently, when the younger Colonel woke up the next morning, she found that her ankle was in far better shape than expected.  
  
She opened her eyes to find that the sun was already coming up, which meant that she'd slept more than fourteen hours – absolutely unheard of for her – and Anderson sprawled comfortably next to her. A quick check of her surroundings as she sat up yawning showed Carter and Teal'c had the watch, with Jack and Dr. Jackson both sleeping close by as well.  
  
Quietly, to avoid waking anyone prematurely, Melony got up. A quick stop to take care of personal needs and then she was at the small fire, looking for some breakfast.  
  
"Good morning, Colonel Mitchell." Carter greeted her with a smile.  
  
"Good morning, Major." She saw the cup of coffee in Carter's hand. "Please tell me there's more of that somewhere?"  
  
Sam laughed and gestured to the old fashioned percolator that Jack and Mitchell had taken from supply. Instant coffee was fine when you were desperate, but brewed was much better, and they'd both decided it was worth the extra pack space.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"How'd you sleep?" Carter asked as Melony dug out a tin mug and poured a cup of coffee, taking an appreciative sniff of it before she took her first sip.  
  
"Great, thanks." She gestured with her cup towards the sleepers. "How long have they been asleep?"  
  
"A few hours. I'll wake them in an hour or so. Colonel O'Neill says we're making good time so we're sleeping in."  
  
"Sounds good." Of course, that was Jack's way of saying he didn't want to tire everyone (mainly SG-2) out, but Mitchell wasn't going to complain. She was feeling better today, but she knew she'd been wiped the day before. Otherwise she'd never have slept for so long. And obviously Anderson was in the same shape, because he was still out.  
  
"Did Anderson take a watch last night?"  
  
"No, he's been asleep all night as far as I know."  
  
Mitchell nodded, and dug out an MRE. She didn't mind spaghetti and meatballs for breakfast. Mainly since her days and nights were so screwed up anyways that it didn't feel like breakfast.  
  
~*~  
  
The rest of them woke up not much after she did, and Mitchell watched Anderson carefully as she ate her breakfast, watching how he moved to see if he was feeling any worse or any better. He seemed to be okay. He certainly was cheerful enough when he came over to the fire and had his morning coffee with her and the others.  
  
"We'll take it easy today," Jack said as they were packing up. "Melony, you have rear with me, Teal'c and Daniel take flanks and Anderson, you and Carter have point. Don't get us lost, Anderson."  
  
"Yes, Sir."  
  
They headed out, and Melony fell into step beside Jack, who had been watching her that morning just as carefully as she'd been watching Anderson, and for the same reason.  
  
"How's the ankle?"  
  
"It feels fine, Jack," she told him, honestly. It felt a lot better than the day before.  
  
"Good."  
  
She knew he had something else on his mind, though, just by the way he was still looking over at her as they walked, and she wondered what it could be. They had a pretty good relationship, and there were very few things that one wouldn't discuss with the other, so whatever it was, it had to be either extremely personal, or something that was he knew was a touchy subject with her. Or both.  
  
She gave him a while to broach whatever it was, but when they'd been walking in almost complete silence for over half an hour and he was still quietly studying her, she finally gave up and brought it up herself.  
  
"What's bothering you?"  
  
He scowled. "It shows, huh?"  
  
"A little, yeah." A lot, really, but only because she could read him as well as anyone – and better than most.  
  
"Anderson."  
  
She raised an eyebrow at that. "What about him?"  
  
O'Neill seemed truly uncomfortable, now, and it was Melony's turn to scowl. "What about him, Jack?"  
  
"You and he are pretty close?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"What kind of guy is he?"  
  
She figured it out. He thought that she and Anderson had more of a relationship than just teammates, and the big brother mentality had kicked in and now Jack was going to find out all about the guy. Something Melony wasn't going to have anything to do with, and wasn't going to make easy for him.  
  
"Why do you ask?"  
  
"Just curious."  
  
Bullshit.  
  
"He's my second in command, Jack. We have the same relationship that you and Major Carter have." That was a calculated response, because Mitchell knew that had more than just platonic feelings for Carter, even though it wasn't something they'd discussed, of course.  
  
Jack scowled, wondering what she knew about him and Carter. They hadn't talked about it, but he also knew that Mitchell was observant enough to be one of the few people outside of SG-1 that might know how he truly felt about his own second in command.  
  
"That's the wrong answer, Melony."  
  
She laughed, knowing then that her guess was spot on. He WAS fishing for information. They walked in silence for a while, but it was a comfortable one. Jack knew that Melony would tell him what he wanted to know; he just had to wait for her to decide when to tell him. Finally, she spoke up again, after making sure that no one else was close enough to hear.  
  
"I don't know, Jack." She admitted. "Anderson's really a great guy. Smart, funny, and there's no one I'd trust more to watch my back." Except O'Neill himself, probably. "Remember I told you that he was hit in the original ambush and I wasn't sure he was going to make it?" Jack nodded. "It was probably... no, it was definitely more personal than it should have been, and I wasn't just worried. I was scared."  
  
"But he made it."  
  
"Yeah. Which makes me grateful that I never had the heart to heart with him I'd thought about having."  
  
Jack understood that completely. He also knew he wasn't the one to give her advice about relationships with her co-workers. Luckily, Mitchell wasn't asking for advice. But she was done discussing Brad with O'Neill, and she knew the perfect way to get the conversation elsewhere.  
  
"So...?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"As long as we're sharing... what about you and Major Carter?"  
  
"We're not sharing," He told her, far more sharply than he'd actually intended. Melony, of course, didn't take it personally. She'd known what his response was going to be – not the exact words, but the exact tone of voice he was going to use – and he hadn't failed. She grinned, and Jack realized he'd been handled fairly skillfully. He couldn't ask her anything about Anderson, now, or she'd just turn the tables on him and ask about Carter.  
  
"Damn it."  
  
She laughed.  
  
"I'm going to make you walk with Daniel," He warned her, but now his tone was far less serious.  
  
She shuddered, pretending to be horrified. "Don't do that. He's still eating those damned apples." 


	11. 11

At the same time Jack and Mitchell were having their conversation, the two majors who were on point were also chatting. Talking made the time go by faster, and made the walk a bit less boring, after all. It was even more interesting when there was someone new to talk to, since even though all the members of the SGC knew who everyone else was for the most part, it was very rare that they had time to actually talk to someone who wasn't on the same team. Unless you counted briefings, which weren't the same thing at all.  
  
Usually all the times they were together with other teams involved shooting and running and chasing or being chased, which left very little time for getting to know each other. Which was why Sam was so curious as to how O'Neill and Mitchell seemed to know each other so well. Jack was far more comfortable with the younger Colonel than he was with the other Commanding Officers of the other SG units, and she just knew there had to be a story in there somewhere. Short of asking Mitchell herself, which might have made Carter come off looking jealous – or worse, nosy – Sam decided that she would see if she could find out in another, more roundabout manner.  
  
Carter had initiated this conversation, since Anderson was trying to figure out exactly where the last landmark was that SG-2 had used to mark their path from the pyramid, and didn't say anything until he actually was positive he knew where he was going. Then, once he seemed to straighten the course out, she started asking questions. Obviously she wanted to know about Melony, but she didn't really want to seem like she was interrogating Mitchell's Second in Command about her, so she started by interrogating him about himself.  
  
He was in his mid thirties, had graduated from the University of Florida before joining the Air Force, and had been with SG-2 for nearly two years – all of that time spent with Colonel Mitchell at the controls – which was fine with Anderson. He had 6 brothers, no sisters, and his grandparents owned a farm in Oklahoma where Brad and his brothers had been raised since their parents were killed in a plane crash when he was younger. In exchange for his life story – more or less – Carter shared her own, telling the other Major about her childhood, her mother's death, her father's career, and all about her brother and his family.  
  
By then, she was far more comfortable with him, and she truly found Anderson to be a pleasant guy. He was well educated and interesting to talk to. And, she had to admit; he was a big ole shiny piece of eye candy. Black hair, blue eyes, and a charming smile, and Sam had to school her expression when she asked him if he had a girlfriend and he'd said no. Of course, the Military made relationships harder, but still, she was surprised no one had snatched him up. If not for her own interest in another person, Sam might well have been interested in the beginning stages of a relationship of some sort with him. Except that by this time, it was obvious to her that he had his mind – and most likely his heart – set on someone else.  
  
He didn't say it, of course, and he probably thought he hid it pretty well, but whenever he told Carter a story, he interjected another story into the mix, and this one usually included his Commanding officer. It was obvious to Sam that he was impressed with her, and respected her a great deal, but there was also a lightness in his voice and a certain expression in his open face when he mentioned her, or one of their exploits. He was smitten. Who better to know the symptoms than herself, after all?  
  
"What about her family?" Carter asked, when Anderson had told Sam about a trip they'd taken to visit his grandparents for Christmas the year before. "Didn't they want her to come visit them?"  
  
Anderson had looked back over his shoulder at Mitchell, who was deep in some kind of conversation with Jack, and had shaken his head.  
  
"She doesn't have much for family," He'd said, a serious expression on his face now, and a clouded look in his blue eyes. Obviously this was something he didn't want to discuss, and Carter backed off, respecting that.  
  
"She knows Colonel O'Neill fairly well..." She'd said, seemingly to change the subject.  
  
"They go way back." Anderson had told her, grinning. "I've seen pictures of him from way back. Colonel Mitchell keeps one in her locker. Her, Michael and Jack O'Neill. It's a classic picture."  
  
"Who's Michael?"  
  
Again the clouded expression, and Sam realized that she'd once again hit a sensitive subject. Obviously, there was something about Mitchell that Anderson didn't feel it was his place to tell, and Sam backed off again. She was enjoying the conversation with Anderson much more than she'd expected, and she didn't want him to clam up on her if she could avoid it.  
  
"Did Colonel O'Neill have long hair? Was he wearing a tie-dye shirt? Bellbottoms?" She asked these before he could answer – or refuse to answer – the first question, and Anderson smiled and shook his head.  
  
"Nah, he was already in the Military, so he had short hair, and no weird clothing, but it was taken during his piloting days, I think. You'll have to make him show it to you. I know he has a copy. Melony – Colonel Mitchell told me he did, anyways." He grinned, "Or you can see if she'll show you her copy. It's really funny."  
  
"I'll have to ask him." Sam said, more to herself than to him, because she loved seeing pictures of him that were taken far in his past. Back before the sorrow of losing his son, and the burden of Command responsibility had given him a far more serious expression. Sam changed the tone of their talk to happier times, and turned the conversation over to the holidays, deciding that if she wanted to know where Mitchell and O'Neill knew each other from, she was going to find out from Mitchell or O'Neill. She wasn't all that great at interrogating, anyways.  
  
~*~  
  
True to his word, O'Neill stopped them frequently that day to rest. Teal'c showed no signs of needing a break, but Daniel was always just as glad as SG-2 was when it came time to stop. He didn't mind walking, and he was in great shape, but this wasn't just a Sunday stroll. It was becoming quite the hike. Suddenly he wasn't in quite so much of a hurry to get to the pyramids, and didn't seem to fidget whenever Jack told them to take five and rest for a bit like he had the first day.  
  
Lunch was the longest break of the day; they took a good hour and rested their feet. O'Neill took the opportunity to nag Mitchell about her ankle, but she told him over and over again that it was feeling fine, and yes, so was her wrist. No she didn't need to ice it, and no, she didn't need to wrap it up. Yes, she was eating plenty, and why didn't he go bother someone else?  
  
Of course, he didn't. No one else needed to be nagged. She was doing a fine job continually checking on Anderson, and it was Jack's job to check on her. That was the privilege of Command, after all. Melony had just scowled, and wandered over to stand near Teal'c, who was looking at yet another of the apple-ish fruits that Daniel had picked on the morning walk. Teal'c didn't nag. He didn't ask her about pyramids. He just loomed. And she rather liked that about him.  
  
"I don't think we're all that far from the pyramid, Sir." Anderson said as they were gathering up their things and getting ready to start walking again after lunch. "Maybe a couple hours."  
  
Jack looked at Mitchell for confirmation, and she nodded from where she was still standing near Teal'c. It was obvious who she wanted to walk with this leg of the trip. No more watching Daniel eat apples, no more listening to Jack try and get information from her one minute and then asking her how she felt the next, and she certainly wasn't going to walk with Anderson and give Jack any reason to ask her even more questions later. That left Teal'c and Carter, and Anderson was already standing by Sam, anticipating that he'd be put on point once more.  
  
"Yeah, he's probably right, Jack. We might get there before nightfall."  
  
"That'd be nice."  
  
"Good things come to those who wait, Jack," Daniel said, wisely, from where he was sitting, munching on one of the apple fruit things.  
  
"The people who wait are probably just getting the leftovers from the people who have already been there and left," Mitchell said, shouldering her pack and turning away from watching Daniel eat. He'd get tired of them eventually, she was sure.  
  
"Teal, you and Mitchell take rear. Anderson, you lead the way, unless you don't think you can find the place, then we'll have –"  
  
"I can find it, Sir." He told Jack, confidently.  
  
Jack nodded. "All right, Major." He gestured to Sam, "And Major. Lead the way." 


	12. 12

"How much longer, Anderson?" Jack asked when he'd called them all to a stop for what would probably be the last time that day. It was getting close to sunset, and the trees were filtering the sun in an almost eerie manner.  
  
"We're close, Sir. I'm not sure how much longer, though." It was a lot harder to judge distances when the last time you'd made a trip you were walking much slower.  
  
Jack nodded, and looked at Mitchell to gauge how she was doing, but she noticed immediately and stood a little straighter. He smiled, slightly, to tell her he wasn't fooled.  
  
"Do we stop here? Or go on?"  
  
"I'm ready to stop." She wasn't worn out, but she was a little tired, and her ankle felt a little tender after a long day of walking. She wasn't in any hurry to continue on.  
  
Jack nodded, "Then we'll stop."  
  
Everyone put down their packs, and looked for the best place to set up their camp in the area. For the first day, Mitchell didn't drop immediately upon stopping. Instead, she told Jack she was going to have a quick look around to make sure she knew where they were. O'Neill nodded, and motioned for Carter to join her, just in case, and the two women walked away, leaving the men to set up camp.  
  
"Are you looking for anything in particular, Colonel?" Carter asked her, looking around, but not expecting any danger.  
  
"Yeah." Mitchell was watching the ground, but realized that it wasn't a very fair answer, so she elaborated. "When I was here last, I wanted to make sure I'd know when we were close – since the area around the pyramid looks a lot like everywhere else – so I made a couple markers."  
  
"What are they? I'll help you look."  
  
"Look on the bottom of the tree trunks, Major. I made a couple of slashes with my knife, and you should be able to see them, if we're close to them."  
  
Sam nodded, and her eyes went to the tree trunks.  
  
The two of them didn't say anything as they searched. There was a time for chatter and there was a time to pay attention to what they were doing, and both of them knew the difference. However, Mitchell was aware that this was her first chance to be alone with the woman that Jack O'Neill had fallen for, and she was tempted to chat her up, just to get to know a little more about her. It would wait, though.  
  
"I think I found one, Colonel."  
  
Melony looked over to where Carter was crouched next to a tree, pointing at a mark that almost looked natural, except that it was slightly jagged.  
  
"Yup, that's one of them." She nodded and came over to run her fingers along the mark. "Good eye."  
  
"Now what?"  
  
"We can go back." Mitchell stood up. "I know exactly where we are, now."  
  
"It all looks the same to me."  
  
"That's because you just got here, Major Carter," Mitchell told her, smiling. "If you spend a couple weeks in the woods, you'll start noticing different trees, and some of them have different characteristics. But I won't bore you with them, and I'm not sure I can explain it in technical terms – since I'm not a botanist – but the trees are different here than they were when we came into the forest, and they're starting to change again. The only ones that are the same, really, are those fruit ones."  
  
That made sense, even though she was right; Carter hadn't noticed any difference at all. A tree was a tree.  
  
They headed back for the campsite, which wasn't all that far away, and saw that the fire was already started, and someone had coffee brewing.  
  
"Nice." Mitchell made a beeline for the coffee, followed closely by Sam.  
  
"What did you find?" Jack asked as he handed Carter a mug. Anderson came over as well, and sat down next to Mitchell.  
  
"One of my markers," Melony answered. "We're really close. Probably less than an hour."  
  
"Should we keep going?"  
  
She shook her head. "It'll be there in the morning, and when it gets dark, we're not going to be able to do all that much anyways."  
  
Daniel looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn't. He could wait one more night. Even when that night was a fourteen-hour one.  
  
"Let's get some dinner, then," O'Neill said, gesturing to Anderson, who was sitting closest to the pack that held the real food. They were stopping a little early, so it was going to be something more than MREs tonight for dinner.  
  
Anderson pulled out various packages of dried rations that only needed water and heating to become a real meal of beef stroganoff and mixed vegetables, and handed them over to Mitchell, who tossed them to Teal'c. He was the designated cook, which was fun for the remnants of SG-2 who had never had a Jaffa cook them dinner before.  
  
Besides, Anderson didn't want to eat Mitchell's cooking, since she could burn water.  
  
~*~  
  
That night, SG-2 took their turns at watches. Both were feeling well enough that they didn't need so much rest, and both had told Jack flat out that they were done be coddled. O'Neill understood how they felt, so he caved in and gave them their turn. Besides, he was getting tired, and looked forward to a few more hours of sleep that night. He left Melony to figure out who had which watch, and enjoyed a relaxing evening sitting around the fire doing nothing.  
  
Mitchell teamed Jack with Teal'c – she had no intention of leaving O'Neill alone for four and a half hours with Brad Anderson. Not after the conversation they'd had that morning, and she didn't feel like trying to answer any more of Doctor Jackson's questions, since the Archeologist was getting a bit antsy about being so close, and had spent the entire evening poring over the notes that he'd received from Mitchell and her team. Knowing that Anderson was a bit more patient about that kind of thing than she did, she put him with Daniel on the middle watch, while she and Carter took the first.  
  
She watched as the others settled into their blankets, and then walked out into the growing darkness. Staring at the fire took away what little night vision she had in the dark, and she didn't want to lose any edge, just in case. It was always 'just in case' when you were on an off-world mission on an SG team. She made a walk of the entire perimeter of the camp, looking for anything that might be a danger, but there wasn't anything, and she'd pretty much knew there wouldn't be.  
  
"Colonel?"  
  
She turned and saw Carter coming over in the dark. The Major was carrying a cup of coffee for each of them, and Mitchell took hers gratefully. Coffee was her life's blood.  
  
"Thank you. Is everyone asleep?"  
  
Sam smiled, although Mitchell didn't see much more than a flash of white teeth in the dark. "Daniel's awake, sitting next to the fire trying to read those notes. I think he's going to catch himself on fire if he's not careful."  
  
"He probably can't read my writing."  
  
Carter laughed and leaned against a tree trunk, standing there as the two enjoyed a quiet cup of coffee. Eventually, though, she decided they might as well talk, if Mitchell was willing. So she broached a conversation.  
  
"I had an interesting talk with Major Anderson today."  
  
"He's an interesting guy," Mitchell agreed, wondering if Jack had decided to use Carter to get more information about Brad out of her.  
  
"He seems to be," Sam agreed. "Lots of brothers."  
  
Mitchell smiled. "And they're all gorgeous, Major."  
  
"You've met them?"  
  
"He takes me home on holiday, sometimes, and they all make an effort to get together then. All tall, all smart, and not one ugly one in the bunch."  
  
Sam laughed again, softly.  
  
"How about you?" Carter asked. "Any cute brothers?"  
  
"I had a brother," Mitchell said softly. "He was killed in action during the Gulf war."  
  
"I'm sorry to hear that, Colonel."  
  
"Me, too. He was a good guy."  
  
"He was in the Air Force?"  
  
"He was a pilot." She confirmed.  
  
"We can change the subject," Sam said. She could hear an odd tone in Mitchell's voice, and since she didn't know the Colonel all that well, she wasn't sure what it was. "I didn't mean to bring up old hurts."  
  
"You didn't. You brought up my brother." Sam could hear the pride in her voice. "When I think of him, I just think of the good things. I got over the hurt a long time ago."  
  
"He knew Colonel O'Neill?" She was beginning to put two and two together.  
  
"Yeah. They were stationed together, and Michael used to bring Jack home for holidays – kind of how Brad brings me home, now."  
  
Sam smiled. "Sort of adopted you, huh?"  
  
"Yeah." She smiled. "And when there's six good looking guys all clamoring for you to come see them, it's pretty hard to say no, you know?"  
  
Carter laughed; she could understand that. She didn't ask any more questions about Mitchell's brother, or about her relationship with Jack. Melony might say she was over it, but there was still a loss, and Sam wasn't going to rub salt into the wound, no matter how half-healed. Instead, she focused on Brad Anderson and his family, and found through the conversation – without actually needing to ask directly - that Mitchell was just as... fond... of her Second in Command, as he was of his Commanding Officer.  
  
By the time the two women went off their watch, though, Melony wasn't the only one who'd given out more information than she'd intended. Mitchell was jut as certain that Carter had some serious feelings for Jack O'Neill, and she'd found out enough about the Major to decide – privately, of course – that she approved, despite regulations. 


	13. 13

Anderson and Mitchell took point the next day, and true to her observations of the night before, they found themselves coming up to a large clearing less than an hour after they'd broken camp that morning.  
  
The two stopped and gave SG-1 a chance to catch up, and the six of them stood silently at the edge of the clearing, taking stock of what was in the clearing, and also automatically looking for any signs of any possible threat, now that they had seen their first sign of human habitat since they'd come through the gate. There were no people, however. There was only a single pyramid, and it looked to be about as old as anything any of them had ever seen.  
  
The ground around the pyramid was treeless. There was short grass, but nothing more for about 50 feet in every direction. The pyramid itself was made of heavy blocks of what looked like granite – but really could have been any stone – and it rose about 60 feet up, stopping at a tapered point. The outside walls were covered in glyphs of all sorts – as Daniel and the others had seen in the notes made by SG-2, and there was a short pillar of the same stone about 8 feet from what was apparently the entrance that was covered with writing as well.  
  
"Wow."  
  
Everyone turned to Daniel, who was staring.  
  
"Wow?" Jack asked.  
  
Daniel gestured at the pyramid, as if that explained everything, but the others all just stared at him. You see one pyramid; you've seen them all. And they'd all seen a pyramid or two in their lives. Daniel sighed.  
  
"Can we go look at it?"  
  
"Teal'c? Anderson? You two take flank. Carter? You have rear. Melony, lead us to your pyramid."  
  
Jack smiled and gestured for Mitchell to take point, and she shook her head and led them out of the forested area, her Beretta in her good hand, raised slightly, just in case. Not that there'd been anything there the first time they'd been at the pyramid, but you never knew when something might come for a visit, right?  
  
They walked up to the pillar, first, and Daniel reached out and ran his hand along it.  
  
"It's just like in the notes."  
  
Duh.  
  
Mitchell didn't say anything.  
  
"The area appears to be clear, O'Neill," Teal'c said, coming around from the other side of the pyramid with Anderson. The two had circled the structure while the rest of the group had approached head on, and they hadn't encountered anything that could have been construed as a threat.  
  
Jack nodded, and looked at Mitchell, as well as the others.  
  
"Where should we set up? In the clearing or in the woods?"  
  
"The woods, I think." That was simply an instinct for not wanting to be out in the open if she could avoid it. Just on the off chance they had visitors, there was far more chance of defending a position that wasn't out in the open.  
  
Jack agreed, but he knew she was more of an expert when it came to the planet they were on.  
  
"Okay, you guys. We'll set up camp right on the edge of the tree line, and get settled in for the long haul. Carter, Anderson? You two find that stream that's in the notes and refill the canteens. Teal'c, dig a fire pit. Daniel-"Jack paused, because Jackson didn't even turn his head from the pillar when O'Neill said his name. He was too intrigued by the glyphs that were written on it. "Daniel... you go on and look at your little rock thing."  
  
Mitchell grinned.  
  
"Melony? Shall we go inside and see what's to be seen?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
They headed for the entrance, but Daniel stopped them.  
  
"Wait a minute, you guys."  
  
O'Neill and Mitchell both turned to look at him.  
  
"Why not let me translate this first? That way we know what you're looking for in there."  
  
"How long will that take?"  
  
"I've already started with the translation." Daniel said. "I've been working on it during our walk. Since I don't have to watch the ground, now, to make sure I'm not going to fall on my face, it shouldn't take more than a couple hours."  
  
"Why wait?" Asked Jack.  
  
"It might be booby trapped."  
  
"I didn't see anything like that the first time we were here, Dr. Jackson." Mitchell said.  
  
"But you said you didn't go inside, Colonel."  
  
"No. We didn't have time to explore."  
  
"We do now." Daniel was in his element, now. "Let me translate this first, okay? Then you can go in."  
  
Jack sighed, and looked over at Melony, who shrugged. She didn't care one way or the other.  
  
"Okay, Daniel. You work on that, and we'll go..." He looked around, but he'd already given out all the assignments and there wasn't anything for the two Colonels to do.  
  
"We'll do a perimeter check." Mitchell said.  
  
"Yeah." It was better than sitting on their butts watching Daniel mumble to himself.  
  
"It shouldn't take long," Daniel reassured them.  
  
"Just call us when you're done," Jack said. "And don't even think about going inside without us."  
  
"I wouldn't dream of it, Jack."  
  
"Uh huh."  
  
~*~  
  
"Perimeter check?"  
  
"You didn't come up with anything better, Jack, so hush."  
  
"I was thinking we could inventory the packs, and see what we have for supplies..."  
  
"Oooo, Thrillsville."  
  
"You know, you have a sarcastic attitude, anyone ever tell you that?"  
  
"Hmmm... I wonder where I picked it up."  
  
They walked around the pyramid, looking for any potential threats – and not just human ones – then went a little into the forested area around the pyramid, just checking things out. Again, neither really expected trouble, but you never knew. They ran into Carter and Anderson, who'd had no trouble finding the stream, and the two Majors were carrying all the canteens except for the ones Jack and Melony were using.  
  
"Daniel's translating the stone thing," Jack told them. "When he's done, we'll go inside and see what's in there. Until then, just keep an eye out for trouble, okay?"  
  
"Yes, Sir."  
  
"Melony and I are doing a perimeter check, and then we'll be back. Keep Daniel out of trouble, please?"  
  
"We'll try, Sir." Carter promised him. 


	14. 14

The knife was 8 inches long and razor sharp. And deadly in the hand that held it, as more than one enemy had found out the hard way. The late morning sunlight glinted on the steel blade as it came down decisively, and there was a noise of dismay. O'Neill's dark eyes looked at his opponent, whose gray eyes were narrowed in careful calculation. She, too, was wielding a knife, and hers was just as sharp, and just as deadly. Although hers was held in the hand that was also partially concealed by her cast. Her good hand being used to hold her body upright. Her blade flashed in the sunlight, and she brought the knife down quickly, in a calculated move. Jack scowled.  
  
"Who's winning?"  
  
Both Colonels looked up at the sound of Carter's voice, and saw that Anderson and Sam were both looming over them, looking over their shoulders. Jack's scowl deepened, and Mitchell's smile increased. She pointed to the tic-tac-toe board that she and Jack had drawn in the dusty ground right next to the pyramid with their knives.  
  
"This one's a tie."  
  
"But I won the last one." Jack said.  
  
"You cheated. It doesn't count when you make more than one X during your turn."  
  
"It does, too."  
  
"No, it doesn't."  
  
"Sure it does. I outrank you."  
  
"Cheater."  
  
"Sore loser."  
  
Sam smiled. "Daniel thinks he's about done with the translation of the pillar."  
  
O'Neill nodded and dusted his knife off on his pants, then stood up. Mitchell wiped the dusty ground clear of the tic-tac-toe board, and put her knife away as well, then reached up with her good hand for a bit of assistance. Anderson caught her hand and hauled her to her feet just as Jack grabbed the back of her jacket and helped.  
  
"You're getting lazy, Melony." O'Neill told her, smiling.  
  
"You should be nicer to me, Jack. I'll probably be the one that picks your nursing home."  
  
Anderson snorted.  
  
"She doesn't need you encouraging her, Major," Jack said, giving the younger man a scowl that didn't reach his eyes, which were twinkling in good humor.  
  
"No, Sir." Anderson dusted off Mitchell's back, which had been leaning against the pyramid as they'd been playing.  
  
"Is he still at the rock?" O'Neill asked Sam.  
  
"Yes, Sir."  
  
They turned as a group and walked to the complete other side of the pyramid. The front end, as they were all coming to think of it. Since it had the entrance, it only made sense, after all. Teal'c and Daniel were both standing by the pillar, and Daniel was munching on one of the apple fruit things as he waited to give the others his report.  
  
"You keep eating those and you're going to get sick," Jack told him as they walked up.  
  
"Or you're going to make me sick," Melony said.  
  
"They're good," Daniel protested. "And no core, which makes them even better." He proved this point by shoving the rest of the thing in his mouth and munching it down happily while he wiped his hands off on his shirt. Anderson grimaced.  
  
"What does it say?" Jack asked, pointing at the pillar of stone once Daniel had cleared his mouth a bit so he could carry on a conversation.  
  
"Apparently, the pyramid isn't the meeting place I'd been hoping it was," Daniel told them, falling into his lecture mode rather easily. "It's multicultural, and multieronic." He looked at Mitchell. "Why didn't you mention that in your notes?"  
  
Melony stared at him, blankly, along with Anderson, and the others.  
  
"Um... because I don't have a clue what that means?"  
  
Daniel stared back at her for a second, and then shook his head. ""Sorry. It means that the pyramid was built by one culture, in one era – a long, long, LONG, time ago – and was then visited by other cultures or races as the time went by, and these peoples just added their own touches to it."  
  
"Which explains why there's more than one kind of writing?" Sam hazarded.  
  
"Exactly." Daniel pointed at one strip of glyphs. "These were made by the original builders, and I'm not completely sure what they say, although a lot of the pictures are similar to some glyphs that were found on PRF812-1, which are related to another set that were found on-"  
  
"Daniel..." Jack was already rubbing his head.  
  
Daniel realized that he was the only one that cared about where the lineage of the glyphs came from. The others' eyes had all glazed over.  
  
"Sorry. They're close enough to another language that I could translate them, and I think the people called themselves the Dralut. They lived here a long time, they worshipped trees as gods, and built this pyramid as a shrine to them."  
  
"And left?" Jack asked.  
  
"And were taken away by the next group of people who visited." Daniel corrected, pointing at the next glyphs, which were completely different. "These were the Ancients. As near as I can tell. Or a variant of their race, because the language is nearly identical. The Dralut were discovered by these folks, and were – for some reason I haven't figured out yet – invited to come with them when they left. And they did. All of them."  
  
"Where'd they go?"  
  
"No clue. They just left. But they went willingly, according to this." He pointed at the glyphs. Everyone just took his word for it. "Then another race of people found this pyramid, and decided that they'd leave their own marks, and I think they used the pyramid as a tomb, since there's a reference to a fallen comrade... or friend... or... something..." He looked back to the stone, staring at one spot as if blaming the glyph for his inability to translate that word.  
  
"So, what's in it?" Jack asked.  
  
"Besides the dead guy." Mitchell asked.  
  
"I'm not sure."  
  
"Booby traps?"  
  
"The Dralut weren't a vicious race – I think," Daniel said. "So I doubt it."  
  
"So we can check it out?" Jack asked.  
  
Daniel shrugged. "I don't see why not." 


	15. 15

Jack walked through the entrance first, stating that because he was senior officer around, it was his right. Everyone knew it wasn't because he wanted to see what was in the pyramid first; he wanted to be the one that set off any traps that might have been waiting for them. Mitchell had argued this with him, but O'Neill wouldn't back down.  
  
"Relax, Melony," He'd told her, giving her his cockiest grin. "I've seen Indiana Jones at least as many times as you have. I know what I'm doing."  
  
"Uh huh."  
  
She didn't relax, and she was right behind him when he went through the stone doorway, ready to back him up if he needed it.  
  
"Wow."  
  
Jack had looked around him when he got inside, and then looked up, shining his flashlight up as well.  
  
"Wow."  
  
Mitchell bumped into O'Neill's back. She was looking up as well, and hadn't realized he'd stopped.  
  
"What is-?" Sam looked up as she entered as well, looked up, and her eyes widened. "Wow."  
  
"Cool."  
  
The other three turned to see that Anderson had entered the pyramid as well, and looked at him. He seemed to feel their eyes on him, because his gaze went from the ceiling and over to them.  
  
"What?" He asked, innocently.  
  
Daniel walked in, leaving Teal'c at the doorway to cover their six. It wouldn't do for something to happen to cause the doorway to suddenly close or something and have them all trapped inside, after all, and Teal'c was easily the strongest of them, so if it came to moving rocks, they were all willing to trust him.  
  
"This is great," Daniel said, looking up for only a moment before moving to look at the inner walls.  
  
The pyramid was far bigger on the inside than Daniel (and the others) had expected. The outer walls rose to almost 60 feet, tapering at the top, but inside Daniel would have been surprised to find a twenty foot ceiling, and expected even less. What he saw was a ceiling that went at least 50 feet high, and was completely covered in some sort of glimmering crystals. The light of the flashlights were refracting and reflecting off these crystals, and the effect was an incredible light show that made the light seem to trickle down the runes on the inner walls and over the next doorway like a waterfall. It was truly incredible.  
  
"What's in here?" Jack asked, pulling his gaze from the light show and moving across the large main room towards the doorway that had the lights going around them. It seemed as if the crystals were simply there to draw attention to the door. Mitchell followed him, and they walked past Daniel, who had stopped to look at more pictures on the walls, and was running his hands along them as he mumbled to himself, obviously trying to translate them.  
  
The two Colonels stuck their heads through the doorway simultaneously, Jack going higher, Melony going lower, and they both made an identical noise of appreciation. This room was fabulous.  
  
It was smaller – much smaller – than the main room, but the walls here were covered in the same crystal that the ceiling of the other room was. Inlayed in these crystal walls, the two Colonels could see runes and glyphs of some sort, even though neither had stepped into the room yet. When Jack shined his flashlight into the room and the beam of light hit the far wall, the crystal walls went crazy, reflecting everywhere, and seeming to take the single beam of light and turn it into far more. Soon the entire room was lit up as brightly as the day outside, although it was apparently empty.  
  
"Turn your light off, Jack." Mitchell told him. She wanted to see how long it took for such a bright room to go dark again. Jack did what she said, and hit the button, and the affect was instant. What had once been incandescently bright was now completely dark.  
  
"Wow."  
  
O'Neill hit his flashlight again, and the room lit up once more.  
  
"I wonder where they got the crystal?"  
  
"No clue. I haven't seen any. Maybe somewhere else on the planet there's a mine, or something."  
  
"You know..." They both turned and saw Carter looking up at the main ceiling still, holding her flashlight. "If these crystals can intensify a single flashlight beam so thoroughly, can you imagine what kind of laser they'd be able to make?"  
  
Neither of the two Colonels had a clue, since lasers weren't something either of them dealt with. Jack walked onto the little room, forgetting in the brightness of the room, and the interesting play of lights that they really hadn't explored it all that well, yet, and that they were still supposed to be watching for dangers, both hidden and otherwise. Mitchell saw the trap that was sprung before he did. She'd seen Indiana Jones a bunch of times, too, after all, and she was already in that mindset.  
  
A piece of floor gave way only slightly under Jack's boot, although that wasn't what she'd seen. She had just happened to be looking at the far wall, and saw the small area that had been solid only a moment before suddenly open up slightly. She didn't KNOW what was coming, she was acting on instinct. And that instinct brought her right hand up and pushed O'Neill to the side. Not far. Just a few feet.  
  
"Jack!" It wasn't a yell. It was a 'hey! Pay attention to what's going on around you' call, and it got his attention immediately. By then, though, the trap was set, and the two wicked looking small darts were on the fly.  
  
They missed O'Neill. Only by a foot at the most, and only because he'd been pushed aside. There was a solid 'thunk' as one of them hit Mitchell's cast, and a yelp of surprise when the other one buried itself deeply into the fleshy part of her forearm, just an inch above where the cast stopped.  
  
"Damn it." 


	16. 16

"What was that?"  
  
Jack turned to look at Melony, who was looking down at her arm. O'Neill hadn't actually seen the darts, but he thought he'd felt something go past him as she'd pushed him, and he definitely heard the sound of the first one hitting her cast.  
  
"Melony?"  
  
"It's probably nothing, Jack," Mitchell said, shaking her head.  
  
Jack took hold of her arm before Mitchell could move it, and shined the flashlight down on the cast. There was about three inches of dart sticking out of the heavy plaster, and a bloody mess right above that, close to the bend of her elbow, where about half an inch of dart was sticking out.  
  
"What the hell is that?"  
  
"Sir?" Carter had heard the note of concern in Jack's voice and moved over to the doorway, followed closely by Anderson and Daniel. All of them looked down at Mitchell's arm, and she scowled, since O'Neill was holding it too tightly for her to move away.  
  
"What happened, Jack?" Daniel asked.  
  
"I'm not sure." Jack said, shining his light from Melony's arm back into the room, which immediately went from dim to brilliant once more. "Let's go outside where I can see it better."  
  
"Colonel?"  
  
"I'm fine, Brad. Don't worry."  
  
She allowed O'Neill to pull her out of the pyramid, where the bright sun beat warmly down on them. Mainly because he was holding her too tightly for her to try and balk, even if she'd wanted to.  
  
They all looked at the dart that was sticking into the cast, and all of them were undoubtedly thinking the same thing when they figured that judging from the amount of dart that was sticking out of the cast, compared to the amount of dart that was sticking out from Melony's bleeding forearm, there had to be at least 2 inches, maybe more, in her arm. Anderson was the first to voice what everyone else was worried about.  
  
"God, do you think it's poisoned?"  
  
"Melony?" Jack looked at her, carefully. "How do you feel?"  
  
"It hardly even hurts," Mitchell said, trying to flex the hand, but wincing when the muscle pulled against the piece of metal that was embedded in her arm. She reached over with her left hand, and gripped the half-inch of the dart that was sticking out and yanked the thing out of her forearm before anyone could stop her. Not that any of them would have.  
  
She looked at the bloody dart, and scowled. It was covered with blood and a few small pieces of her flesh – which was kind of icky – but she'd been hurt much worse many times, and was trying very hard not to think about the possibility of poison.  
  
"Let me see that." Carter reached for it, but Melony moved it away from Carter and the others. If it was poisoned, then there was no way the others were going to touch it as it was. "Get a baggie, Anderson. You guys can look at it through the plastic."  
  
He nodded, and gave her another worried look, figuring if she was going to use such caution, then she thought there might be a chance it was poisoned.  
  
"Go, Major," Jack told him, his own concern making him shorter with the younger man than he'd intended to be. "Carter? Teal'c? Get camp taken apart. We're heading back."  
  
"What?" This was from Mitchell. "Jack, it's prob-"  
  
"I'm not going to take any chances, Melony." Jack told her, interrupting. "We're a long ways from help, and if that is dangerous..." He refused to say the word 'poisoned' "...then we need to get going, now, before it gets serious."  
  
She didn't reply, instead looking down at the dart in her hand and the dart in her cast. He was probably right, as much as she hated the fact that they'd walked all this way only to go home again so soon.  
  
"Here." Anderson came running up with a small zip-lock baggie that he handed to Mitchell. The Colonel put the bloody dart into it, then pulled the other one out of her cast and put that one in as well. She saw Jack looking at the second one, probably looking for blood, which was confirmed with his next question.  
  
"Did that one get you?"  
  
"I don't think so." She told him, honestly. "I didn't feel anything, anyways." She closed the bag, tightly, and rolled it up, and handed it to Anderson. "Be careful with that."  
  
"I will."  
  
Anderson had grabbed a first aid kit from camp when he'd gotten the baggie, and he handed it to O'Neill, who took it with a nod and opened it up. Pulling out a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, he held Mitchell's arm at a slight angle, then emptied the entire bottle in the wound left by the dart. THAT hurt far more than the dart itself had, and Mitchell flinched, jerking her hand back, reflexively. Jack's grip was tight enough that it didn't move far, though, and he gave her an apologetic look as her breath hissed out from between tightly clenched teeth.  
  
"Gah, that freaking hurt."  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"Not your fault."  
  
Actually, Jack was well aware that it WAS his fault. It hadn't escaped his notice that she'd pushed him out of the way of those two darts, and while it wasn't as dramatic as jumping on a landmine or pushing him out of the way of a speeding car, he was worried that it might have same consequences if the dart did turn out to be poisoned. Which was why he was so determined that they were going to get back to the SGC as soon as possible, so they could be near better-trained medical personnel.  
  
He put a bandage on the small wound, and then wrapped it tightly with gauze and then tape, and gave her another worried look.  
  
"Stop looking at me like that, Jack." She scowled and moved her hand from his grasp, and he allowed her to this time. He'd pretty much done all he could.  
  
"Daniel?" Jack turned to the archeologist, who had taken the bag from Anderson and was looking at the darts intently. Daniel turned.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Do you think they're poisoned?"  
  
"I don't know, Jack." He answered, honestly. "The Dralut don't appear to be a culture that would do something like that. From all I've managed to translate, they appreciated the sanctity of life, and thought it was precious. Which was why they worshipped trees."  
  
"And the other guys? The ones that came later with the dead comrade?"  
  
Daniel shrugged, helplessly. "I just don't know, Jack. I can't figure out their language well enough to understand what they've written."  
  
"Maybe the dead guy wasn't dead when he got here..." Anderson said softly, and when Mitchell looked over at her Second in Command, she saw real concern in his eyes. And she reacted to it, immediately, by reaching out with her good hand and patting his shoulder reassuringly.  
  
"Don't worry about it until we know there's something to worry about, Major." She told him, trying – and failing – to be stern. There was no way she could chew him out for caring. "It's not going to do any good to get all worked up over..." Melony trailed off and looked down at her casted arm, shaking it slightly and flexing the fingers.  
  
"What is it?" Jack asked.  
  
"My whole arm just went numb." 


	17. 17

Yeah, numb couldn't be good. Jack was immediately more worried than ever.  
  
"Carter?" O'Neill yelled towards the area that they'd set up camp only a few hours earlier.  
  
"We're ready, Sir." Came the immediate reply. They'd haphazardly thrown everything into the packs, adding what would have been in Mitchell's packs to the others, since she and Teal'c were certain that it'd be better if Melony's load were lightened. Teal'c had another thought, though, as he and Sam brought all the packs to the waiting group, and he addressed it as soon as they were all together.  
  
"O'Neill."  
  
Jack turned to look at Teal'c as he took the pack that Carter handed him.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"If there is, indeed, poison running through Colonel Mitchell's veins, perhaps it would be better if she did not walk and speed up the flow of blood?" He looked at Mitchell apologetically for speaking of her as if she weren't there, but Jack was in charge, so he was the one Teal'c knew should be addressed.  
  
"What?"  
  
"We can't leave her here, Teal'c." Daniel said.  
  
"I am not suggesting we leave her, Daniel Jackson." Teal'c said, calmly. "I am merely suggesting that we make a stretcher and carry her, to keep her from raising her respiration and pulse rates. It could, perhaps, keep her from becoming ill if indeed the darts were poisoned."  
  
"At least it'd slow the poison down, maybe." Jack said, dropping his pack. It was a good idea. "You're right, Teal'c. Good plan. Go find a couple of poles." There were plenty of branches to choose from, and certainly the Jaffa could find two straight ones that were long enough for their needs.  
  
"What?" Mitchell protested, still looking down at her hand as if trying to figure out why it wasn't working exactly how it was supposed to be. "I'm not going to be carried. There's nothing wrong with my legs."  
  
"It's a good idea, Melony." Jack told her. "If we keep your heart rate from going too fast, we can slow any poison." Hopefully.  
  
"It's a shit-"  
  
"It's an order." Jack said, holding up his hand to stop her from arguing. There were times when he'd put up with it – especially from her – but this wasn't one of those times. "Sit down and relax while we make a stretcher."  
  
"But..." She slumped to the ground, unable to think of anything to say to make him change his mind, and knowing from the tone of voice that it was going to take a lot more convincing than she could do just then. Besides, her attention was still somewhat focused on her arm, which had gone from numb to tingling, and back to numb once more.  
  
"Sir?" This was from Anderson, who had watched the exchange with concern. "What about having someone run back to the gate?"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"We could take the dart, and see if Dr. Fraiser can find out if it's poisoned or not, and if it is, maybe she could give that person the antidote to bring back."  
  
Jack visibly thought that one over. It had its merits as an idea went, except for a few things.  
  
"The only problems I see with that is that I don't want to sit here with Melony only to find out that the antidote is rare enough that we don't have any at the SGC, and we'd have to wait longer to get it here." If things went to bad and then – God forbid – worse, Jack wanted Melony where they could keep her stable until they got her cure.  
  
"We could still carry her out, then, and have the runner meet us half way? Either with the antidote, or with news that we need to get her to the SGC."  
  
"This is a lot of worrying over something that's probably nothing." Mitchell complained, leaning back against the pyramid wall once more and closing her eyes, tiredly.  
  
"Colonel?"  
  
This was from Daniel, who had been watching her slowly seem to wilt as the conversation went on between Anderson and O'Neill. Jack noticed, then, as well, and so did Anderson, and when Melony opened her eyes in response to Daniel's voice, she found that all of them were kneeling close, their eyes all wearing identical expressions of concern.  
  
"What?"  
  
"We'll carry her out," Jack said. "Carter? You want to get a couple blankets ready to make the stretcher when Teal'c gets back?"  
  
"Yes, Sir." Sam started rummaging through the packs once more.  
  
"Colonel?" Anderson reached out and touched Melony's face, gently, as though checking for a fever, but there wasn't one.  
  
"Relax, Brad." She told him, closing her eyes again. "I'm fine."  
  
"Open your eyes, Melony." Jack growled, reaching out as well, and running his hand through her hair to get her attention.  
  
She did as she was told, looking up at him.  
  
"Now, keep them open." He said, softly. "That's an order."  
  
"Yes, Sir, Colonel, Sir."  
  
Jack smiled, slightly, but there was no humor in his dark eyes, now. All there was was worry.  
  
"Good."  
  
Jack looked over at Anderson, thoughtfully. The Major was about to be given an order he wasn't going to like, and Jack knew it before he even gave it. "Major Anderson, your idea of running to the gate is a good one. Since I know you can find it, I want you to be the runner."  
  
"What?" Anderson paled. There was no way he was going to leave his Commanding Officer alone right now! Not a chance in Hell. "Sir, I want to-"  
  
"We need someone who can find the Gate without having to look for landmarks, Anderson. You're the only one that's made the trip, and you're the only one who I can be certain can find the way back with the antidote once you do find the Gate." There was no doubt that the little darts had been poisoned, now. Not with Mitchell acting like she was.  
  
"But, Sir-"  
  
"Brad..." Mitchell turned her gray eyes on her Second in Command, and he looked over at her. "Just do it... if I have to be carried... you have to run..."  
  
"But..."  
  
"Please?"  
  
There was no way he could say no. Not because O'Neill had ordered him, though. Jack was right, and Major Anderson knew it. He could find the Stargate quicker than anyone else, and he could get help back sooner. It was obvious they'd need it as soon as possible. He just couldn't stand the thought of not being with her to reassure her, and to bully her in case things started getting bad. That was his job, after all! Like she'd done for him after the ambush had left him so battered he'd just wanted to lie down and die.  
  
"He can't go alone, Sir." Carter said, understanding the emotions that were going through the other Major's mind. She knew how she'd feel if it were jack in Mitchell's position, and if she'd been ordered to leave him. "We haven't run into any dangers, yet, but there might be something out there that's just waiting to catch someone alone, and he's not going to be able to get to the gate in one day."  
  
"Yes I will." Anderson told her.  
  
"No, you won't." Carter knew how much daylight was left, and she knew how far a person could run, and it didn't add up. Especially at night.  
  
"You go with him, Major." Jack said. It was her or Daniel, and Sam was in better shape than Jackson, since she ran all the time to keep in shape. They were definitely going to need Teal'c's help bearing Mitchell, and Jack, himself, had absolutely no intension of leaving Melony's side. Not when this whole mess was his fault anyways.  
  
Sam nodded. She'd already figured that out, as well.  
  
"Take the darts, and see what Fraiser can do with them, and then haul ass back as soon as you can, either with the antidote, or with news."  
  
"Yes, Sir."  
  
"And for God's sake... be careful, okay?"  
  
"We will."  
  
Sam pulled most of the stuff out of her pack, leaving just a few MREs, and a handful of supplies that she thought she'd need.  
  
"But-"Anderson didn't want to go. It was so painfully obvious that Jack almost told the man he could stay. But he couldn't, and there was no other way.  
  
"I'll take care of her, Major," Jack said, softly, putting his hand on the younger man's shoulder. "I swear."  
  
Anderson swallowed hard against a lump in his throat, and nodded. "Yes, Sir."  
  
He pulled out everything from his pack, as well, and replaced it with just a few essentials, then carefully wrapped the baggie with the darts in a towel, and put them in his pack with a light blanket.  
  
"We'll see you soon." He said, standing up and looking down at Mitchell as though trying to memorize her features once more. Sam stood as well, her hand on Anderson's elbow as she looked down at Melony as well. The younger Colonel had closed her eyes once more, so she didn't see the two Majors turn and sprint off into the woods. 


	18. 18

Author's Note: This one is a little short, but I think I'll make up for it in the next chapter or two..  
  
~*~  
  
Teal'c returned almost immediately with two long poles that were straight and sturdy enough for what they were going to use them for. Jack told him about sending Anderson and Carter for the gate with the darts, and the Jaffa nodded. He had thought of that, as well, while he'd been looking for his branches.  
  
Making a stretcher wasn't very hard when you had everything you needed - which in this case was a couple sturdy blankets, poles and rope - and Jack and Teal'c had a good one put together in only moments. Both had made stretchers before.  
  
"Melony?"  
  
Mitchell opened her eyes again and looked at Jack.  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"We're going to put you on the stretcher, okay?"  
  
She nodded. Jack gestured for Teal'c to take her legs, and the two of them carefully picked her up and settled her on their makeshift stretcher. Then Daniel covered her with a blanket – although the day was mild, they could tuck it around her to keep her from slipping off and falling – and picked up one of the packs that he'd filled with the first aid kits, canteens, blankets and food. Everything else would be left to be collected at a later date. They didn't have enough hands to carry it all.  
  
Jack and Teal'c picked up the ends of the stretcher, and they headed into the woods in the same general direction that Carter and Anderson had only a half hour before.  
  
~*~  
  
"We won't be able to keep this pace up for too long," Carter told Anderson.  
  
The two of them were running at a faster clip than a jog, but not quite a sprint. It was a pace that Anderson was setting, and Sam knew it was only his concern that was making him go so quickly, but if they kept it up they were going to run themselves into the ground far sooner than necessary, and the man had to know that.  
  
"I know." Anderson's voice was already defeated, as if he expected the worst, and was just waiting for it to happen. He started to slow down a little, and Carter matched his pace.  
  
"We'll run for a couple miles, then walk for a couple." She told him. Actually, she wasn't sure who was senior of the two, but suspected it was probably him. However, she was almost definitely thinking clearer than he was at the moment.  
  
Anderson nodded. It was as good a plan as any.  
  
"We have probably 14 hours of daylight left, Major Carter," he said, wiping sweat off his brow as he jogged beside her. "There's no way we can run in the dark – it's way too dangerous – so we'll need to make as much time as we can before then."  
  
"We're not going to do her any good if we drop the first day."  
  
There was silence, but she was right and she knew it. And she knew he knew it, as well. They ran on, not speaking, saving their breath for running.  
  
~*~  
  
Teal'c, Jack and Daniel were having a similar conversation as they walked.  
  
"We can make good time if we don't stop any more than necessary," Jack was saying. "Teal'c, you'll really be setting the pace, since Daniel and I can trade off and on on this end, so when you need a break, just speak up and we'll take one."  
  
"I will." He wasn't going to need one anytime soon, though, and he could take a breather when Jack and Daniel switched spots.  
  
"Jack?"  
  
Mitchell had opened her eyes again, and was looking up at him, noticing the worry set in his features, and wondering what he was so worried about.  
  
"Hmmm?" Jack looked down at her and almost tripped because he wasn't looking where he was going. "How's the arm, Melony?"  
  
"It's a little sore." It was pretty much on fire, and was throbbing something awful, but she was still stubborn enough to keep that to herself.  
  
"We'll have you back to the SGC in no time, and Fraiser can hook you up to all her little machines and nag you until you're healthy again."  
  
Mitchell smiled, tiredly. "There's no rush."  
  
Yeah, there was, and Jack knew it. She already looked awful. He couldn't put his hand on her forehead to check her temperature since he was holding the stretcher up, but she looked a little flushed.  
  
"Just hang in there, okay?"  
  
"I'm sorry, Jack..." She closed her eyes again. The motion of the stretcher was making her slightly ill, and looking at the sun through the trees wasn't helping.  
  
"You need to stay awake and talk to us, Melony." Jack told her.  
  
Daniel reached down and touched her cheek, but it wasn't warm.  
  
"Are you thirsty, Colonel?"  
  
"I'd kill for some coffee."  
  
"How about some water?"  
  
"How about some coffee?"  
  
"How about some water until I can make some coffee?"  
  
She was talking at least, and almost bantering with Jackson. Jack took it as a good sign.  
  
"Melony? We'll make a canteen of coffee for you when we stop, okay? Have some water for now."  
  
She sighed, but nodded, and opened her eyes to look over at Daniel, who handed her a canteen.  
  
"Stop, Jack? Please?" She couldn't drink while they were moving. Teal'c stopped the stretcher immediately, and Jack did, too.  
  
"We'll take a break here for a minute." 


	19. 19

Eventually it was Anderson who had to call the final stop of the day. The Major had literally run himself ragged and had managed to go far longer than Sam had ever believed he could – and his urgency had driven her to go further than she'd ever believed she could, either. But he was only a month off from being badly wounded himself, and only a couple days into recovery after a long month of trekking far distances on short rations, and though the spirit was still willing, Anderson's body gave out. He tripped in the semi dark, and fell, and he didn't get up.  
  
Carter stopped, holding her side and breathing heavily as she tried to catch her breath. Sweat was streaming off her, and her side was so badly cramped that it felt like she was going to turn inside out at any minute. She was in good shape, but she had never been a marathon runner, especially with a pack on her back.  
  
When she got her breath back a little, and realized that Anderson still hadn't moved from where he'd fallen, Carter stumbled over to him, and flopped down beside him.  
  
"Brad?"  
  
He groaned, and made a wave of his hand to show her he wasn't dead, but that was about it.  
  
"We have to stop, Samantha."  
  
The two had decided that there was no reason for them to continue being so formal, when there was no one else around to see them calling each other 'Major'. Besides, they were the same rank, so it wasn't a big deal. Mitchell and O'Neill didn't call each other 'Colonel', did they?  
  
"It's okay." She pulled her pack off, and took a drink of water, wishing she had a large pool to soak in at that moment. She was so hot! "Have a drink, Brad, and I'll get us some dinner."  
  
"I'm not hungry."  
  
He wasn't moving, either, and Carter leaned over and pulled on his shoulder, forcing him to sit up. It wasn't completely dark, but it was getting close, and she couldn't see his face all that clearly, but she could see the haunted look in his eyes, and knew exactly where his thoughts were.  
  
"I'm sure she's fine." Sam told him, gently, handing him her canteen. "You can't give up on her."  
  
"She hardly spoke to me when we left..." He took a deep breath and then drank a swallow or two of water gratefully before handing her canteen back to Carter.  
  
"We didn't give her much chance to."  
  
He dragged his pack off his back, and flopped down, looking up at the sky. They'd cleared the trees only about half an hour ago, and the going had really been rough after that – made more so by their exhausted condition.  
  
"She's not going to make it, Sam. And I never had a chance to tell her how I feel." His voice was empty, and helpless and Carter felt tears stinging her eyes.  
  
"You don't know that, Brad." Sam told him, reaching out and putting her hand on his leg, which was the closest part of him she could reach. "She's probably sitting around the fire with the guys right now, drinking coffee and playing tic-tac-toe with Colonel O'Neill."  
  
Neither of them believed that, but it was a nice thought, and it was enough to make Anderson at least sit up and stretch out his aching muscles a little so they wouldn't crap too badly during their forced inactivity of the evening. They made a cold camp, with no fire, since neither of them had thought to gather any wood before they'd left the trees. Luckily, they didn't need fire to eat an MRE; they were okay cold. They rubbed each other's legs – again hoping to keep cramping to a minimum – and then wrapped up in their blankets and went to sleep. Neither had the ability to keep their eyes open long enough to stand a watch, and they were both so miserable from their days run that it would have been almost a relief to get eaten by something.  
  
~*~  
  
The others had had just about as rough a day as Carter and Anderson. They'd made decent progress, walking further than Jack could have hoped, but O'Neill was worried. And he was getting more and more worried as each hour passed. Whether it was the motion of the traveling making her sick, or the poison, Mitchell had been wracked with violent spells of nausea and hadn't managed to keep down anything the three of them had given her.  
  
Her right arm was swelling, and Jack had been forced to remove the bandage on the dart wound, which had revealed a nasty looking wound that was oozing blood and puss in equal amounts. He'd poured another bottle of antiseptic on the wound and had rebandaged it a little more loosely this time. That was all that he could do.  
  
They'd stopped for the night after Daniel had tripped in the dark and had fallen hard, taking the stretcher and Teal'c down with him. Jack had tried to catch Melony before she could hit the ground, but he hadn't been ready for Daniel's stumble any more than Daniel or Teal'c had been.  
  
"I'm sorry," Daniel said softly as they eased the injured Colonel into a more comfortable position.  
  
"It's okay, Daniel," Jack told him, checking the bandage on her arm, and wondering – for the hundredth time – if he should remove her cast. He couldn't tell if her lower forearm was swelling or not under the plaster, and he wasn't sure if the cast was hindering or helping. And as before, he decided to do nothing. "We should have stopped when it got dark, but..."  
  
"I know, Jack." Daniel rubbed his hand, which he'd hurt in his last fall, and stood up. "I'll get the fire going."  
  
"Make coffee..." Mitchell said, softly. She was only paying partial attention to what was going on around her, but the fall had jolted her back into some semblance of the here and now, and she'd heard the two talking.  
  
"Yes, Ma'am," Daniel said, reaching down and brushing his fingertips against her cheek before going off to find some wood in the dark.  
  
"I will take first watch, O'Neill." Teal'c's voice came out of the darkness, and Jack could hear fatigue. He shook his head.  
  
"Nah, Teal'c. Take some time and rest." God knew he'd earned it. "I'm not going to be able to sleep anyways."  
  
He looked down at Mitchell, who'd closed her eyes once more and seemed to be sleeping. Probably, she was just appreciating the lack of motion under her. Jack sighed and stretched out beside her – on her uninjured side. He wanted to be close if she needed anything during the night. He took his canteen and dribbled some water from it onto a cloth – which had been a towel earlier that morning until Jack had ripped it up – and wiped her face with it, trying to cool her off a little.  
  
"Jack?"  
  
"Yeah, Melony?" He leaned over, hoping she'd open her eyes.  
  
"I probably should have had that heart to heart with Brad, huh?"  
  
She was giving up on him, and he knew it. Her voice was softer than he'd ever heard it – even the day he'd told her that her brother was dead, and there was a dead quality to it that he'd never heard there before. Jack took her hand in his, and squeezed it gently, desperately.  
  
"You can still have it, Melony." He whispered. "You need to tough this out. Please?"  
  
"I like Major Carter..."  
  
Where had that come from?  
  
"I like her, too, Melony."  
  
Mitchell squeezed O'Neill's hand again, and shifted just enough to put her head against his shoulder. She didn't want to be alone, and she didn't want to admit to Jack just how bad she hurt.  
  
"I wish..."  
  
Jack cuddled her gently against him, holding her as closely as he dared, and tried not to move her and trigger another round of retching.  
  
"What do you wish, Melony...?" He asked, trying to keep her alert and talking.  
  
"I wish..." He never heard what it was, though. She drifted off into an uneasy sleep, finally able to relax a little now that her world wasn't spinning so violently around her.  
  
"I wish that, too..." Jack whispered. He held her for a while longer, making sure she was truly asleep and not something far worse, then reluctantly got up and went over to help Daniel set up their camp. Daniel was just as tired as everyone else, after all, and it wasn't fair to leave him to it alone. 


	20. 20

"Jack..."  
  
It wasn't more than an almost inaudible whisper, but Teal'c heard it from where he was sitting, and the Jaffa leaned over and ran a water-soaked piece of towel along Mitchell's forehead and cheeks. She'd been burning with fever the entire night, and the three had been taking turns caring for her and keeping an eye on her. Jack had planned on doing it all himself that evening, but Teal'c and Daniel had both ruthlessly informed him that if he didn't get any rest they'd make less time the next day because of him, and he'd finally caved in and went to sleep, although he was close at hand.  
  
"It is Teal'c, Colonel Mitchell," Teal'c told her, his voice a rumbling whisper. "O'Neill is resting. Should I wake him?"  
  
"Teal'c?" She was quiet for a moment, and Teal'c wondered if she wasn't sure who he was. She shook her head finally, though. "No... he should sleep."  
  
She opened her eyes, and he could see her gray eyes were mostly unfocused in the faint light from the fire.  
  
"Would you like some water?"  
  
"Coffee?"  
  
Daniel had made coffee earlier, and there was some left sitting by the fire. It wouldn't be hot – for that matter, it was probably not even all that warm, since the night had turned slightly chilly – but it would be coffee flavored, and Teal'c nodded.  
  
"I shall return momentarily."  
  
He poured about half a cup of coffee into a tin mug, and came back over to where they'd stretched her out – still on the stretcher – and he helped her sit up just a little, careful not to jar her arm, which was still badly swollen and streaked with red, now.  
  
Mitchell leaned heavily against Teal'c, her own strength gone, and took a sip of the coffee. Then another. It was good coffee, although it was cold, and she held it down without retching, which half-surprised Teal'c, since she hadn't managed to keep any water down the entire day. He held her tenderly as she finished the entire half cup, taking it slowly because she didn't have the energy to gulp (which was probably just as well).  
  
"Would you like more?" Teal'c asked when it was empty.  
  
She didn't speak, but he could feel her shake her head against him, and Teal'c set the coffee mug to the side and watched her to make sure she was going to keep it down as he once more ran the damp towel along her fevered brow. She kept it down, and fell into another restless sleep, still cradled carefully in Teal'c's powerful arms. It wasn't the same as being held by Jack – or Brad, which had never happened no matter how tempting that would have been – but she wasn't alone, and that made dealing with the fires that were now raging from her arm and into her chest, belly and legs a little easier, and it kept the evil dreams away.  
  
~*~  
  
They were up and running – literally – with the sun. Anderson and Carter had both woken up and eaten again in the middle of the long night so that they wouldn't need to eat right away and start their day running on a full stomach – which was an awful way to run. They'd stretched as well as they could, although their muscles were screaming at them to rest another day before trying to run like they had the day before, and Anderson had looked at the sun to make sure he knew which way they needed to go, then had shouldered his pack and started running once more, Carter at his side matching his pace perfectly.  
  
The ground was far more uneven, as they'd discovered on the original journey, so the two runners were slowed a little by necessity. They absolutely couldn't afford a bad fall, or even worse a sprained ankle, so they had to watch the ground carefully and pick the safest place to run. The slow pace gave their bodies a chance to catch up to the running rhythm, though, so they weren't winded immediately, which was a good thing. They'd make the gate before midday, Anderson was sure of it.  
  
~*~  
  
They couldn't rouse Mitchell the next morning. She wasn't responding to anything Jack said, and even when he changed the bandage on her arm she didn't make a single noise. Her arm looked awful, more and more so as the time passed. The red streaks – which Jack thought meant blood poisoning, although with an unknown poison you never really knew – were going from the dart wound all the way up to her shoulder, and presumably down her forearm and underneath her cast. He didn't know, because he still hadn't cut the cast off, and now her arm was so swollen he wasn't positive he could get the razor sharp blade of his knife under the plaster to do it even if he wanted to.  
  
They ate a hasty breakfast, and Teal'c suggested Daniel brew a pot of coffee and keep it in one of the canteens to cool a bit as they traveled. He explained how Mitchell had woken the night before and had managed to hold down the coffee where she hadn't been able to keep down water. It was as good a way to get fluids into her as any, they decided, and the air was filled with the smell of brewing coffee, which Jack and Daniel both had a cup of before they moved out.  
  
Teal'c picked up his end of the stretcher, and Daniel picked up the other. Jack shouldered their packs and walked beside Melony, looking down at her every other step, his eyes worried and his hand constantly brushing against her cheek or hair. They'd hopefully get out of the trees by evening, and would be at the gate the next day.  
  
Jack now understood how difficult it had been for the four injured members of SG-2 to make their long trek. Even more difficult than this one, since they hadn't had more than a rigged together piece of radio to hopefully tell them where the gate was. He couldn't imagine how concerned Melony would have been about her men during an entire month of walking, when they didn't have the boundless strength of Teal'c to keep the stretcher constantly moving. It showed him just what kind of grit she had – as if there had ever been any doubt before – and Jack devoutly hoped she could call on that grit once more and keep fighting her illness until they returned her home. 


	21. 21

The gate flared and opened, and the iris closed.  
  
"Off-world activation! Repeat! Off-world activation!"  
  
Hammond hurried into the command center as the security teams scurried into positions, their weapons raised and ready, their faces tense as they always were until they knew who or what they were dealing with.  
  
"It's SG-1, Sir." Davis told Hammond.  
  
"What? Already?" Something was wrong, Hammond knew, or they wouldn't be back so soon. "Open the iris," He told the Sergeant, and then he hit the intercom system. "Medical team to the embarkation room."  
  
Hammond headed for the embarkation room as well.  
  
The iris was open, now, and the security team and the General watched as a form appeared, tripped and went down, tumbling the length of the ramp noisily to end up sprawled at Hammond's feet. He knelt down just as another form appeared, and this one, too, tripped – or just plain fell – and tumbled as well, although she managed to catch herself before she rolled all the way to the bottom of the ramp. Both of them scrambled to their feet, breathing heavily, sweating profusely, and looking extremely agitated.  
  
"Major Anderson? Major Carter?" Hammond asked, confused, as the gate disengaged. "Where's the rest of your teams?"  
  
"We ran into trouble, Sir," Carter gasped, holding her side and trying to catch her breath. Anderson was in even worse shape, clutching his stomach so tightly that Hammond thought he must be injured. "Colonel Mitchell's been hit with some kind of poisoned dart-"  
  
"What about you two?" Hammond interrupted, pulling Anderson's arm away from his side, expecting to see blood, but not seeing anything. He could feel heat radiating from the younger man, though, and decided he'd been running. But ho far?  
  
"We're fine, Sir," Carter was still trying to catch her breath. The two hadn't stopped running the moment the gate had appeared on the horizon in front of them, and the last leg had been a sprint that had taken everything they had left out of them. Sam's legs were trembling so badly she was amazed she hadn't fallen again. "We need-"  
  
She was interrupted again by the arrival of Fraiser and a medical team, complete with a gurney. The Doctor sent one of her subordinates up the ramp to check Sam while she stopped at General Hammond, and opened Anderson's shirt, expecting to see blood considering the way the man was clutching his side. There was no blood, though, as Hammond had already discovered.  
  
"We have to get help to them," Anderson gasped.  
  
"Mitchell's been poisoned?" Hammond asked, catching the words that Carter had said before he'd interrupted her. "Where is she?"  
  
"They're carrying her. We ran ahead with the darts to get the antidote. They're at least two days away on foot, and probably a lot more."  
  
Anderson slipped off his pack – his shirt was soaked with sweat and sticking to his skin – and dropped to the floor of the embarkation room to open the bag. Digging through it with hands that were shaking almost as badly as his legs were, the Major found the towel wrapped baggie and handed it to Fraiser.  
  
"You have to be careful." He warned her. "Colonel Mitchell wouldn't even let us touch them."  
  
Fraiser unwrapped the towel and saw the two wicked looking little darts. One was clean and menacing, the other was covered with drying blood – that hadn't dried completely because of the airtight baggie it was in – and had little pieces of flesh sticking to it. This was obviously the culprit.  
  
"I'll analyze it and see what we're dealing with," Fraiser told Hammond and the others. She looked at Anderson, who was still on his knees, and at Carter, who looked ready to sink to hers at any minute. "Get them cooled off, re-hydrated, and into bed."  
  
"No!" Anderson came to his shaky feet, almost fell and grabbed at Hammond to keep from doing so. "We have to get back. I have to be there."  
  
"You need a chance to rest, son," Hammond told him, understanding completely. He was Mitchell's Second in Command and as such, knew his place was with the Colonel. However, they were going to need him to show the rescue team where to go, and they'd need him in one piece for that. "Doctor Fraiser's going to need a while to get the poison analyzed, and you'll use that time to get your strength back. Then, when she's got the antidote, you and Major Carter can lead the rescue team to go get the others."  
  
Anderson nodded, and released Hammond's shirt with an apologetic look. Hammond smiled, reassuringly, and put his hand on his shoulder. Hotheads, all of his kids were hotheads. And he liked that about them, most of the time. "Major Carter, Major Anderson, you two go with the medics and do whatever they tell you. We'll get the rescue team put together."  
  
"Yes, Sir."  
  
Anderson nodded again, and the two followed Fraiser's medics out of the room. Hammond watched, then looked up at Davis, who had watched it all through the bullet-proof glass of the command center.  
  
"Get me SG-9, and SG-14 in the briefing room in ten minutes, Sergeant."  
  
"Yes, Sir."  
  
~*~  
  
Jack's voice woke her from a cruel dream, and she felt something wet placed against her lips.  
  
"Melony?"  
  
"Mike?" Her open mouth was suddenly filled with wetness, and she realized it was cold coffee they were trying to get her to drink. The wetness felt wonderful to her parched lips and tongue, and the flavor was something she'd never been able to say no to. She took a painful swallow, the muscles of her throat seizing temporarily, then giving way and doing what she wanted.  
  
"It's Jack, Melony." His voice sounded so worried that she had to open her eyes. And she did. And saw that someone was standing between her and the sun to shade her from the direct rays. That was nice of them, she decided idly.  
  
"Jack?" She moved her head, and winced. She hurt everywhere. There was an overall feeling of unwellness, but her entire body ached, as well, and her heartbeat was the rhythm of the pain.  
  
"Yeah." He held the canteen against her lips once more and she took another sip of the cold coffee gratefully.  
  
"Where's Brad?"  
  
"He's coming, Melony. Just hang in there, okay?" Jack sounded tired, and scared, and as if he were trying to hide both.  
  
"I'm fine, Jack."  
  
She closed her eyes, needing to rest them. They ached, too, and trying to focus on him hadn't made them feel any better.  
  
"Stay with me, Melony."  
  
"I am... stop nagging."  
  
She felt a cool cloth on her forehead, and turned her head towards it when it was pulled along her left cheek. That felt wonderful. Almost as good as the coffee.  
  
"We're just going to take a quick break," Jack told her. "Are you hungry? Can you eat for me?"  
  
Ugh. "No." The last thing she wanted was something in her stomach. She already felt sick.  
  
"More coffee?"  
  
"No..." She sighed. "More towel..."  
  
~*~  
  
Jack smiled, slightly, and watched as Daniel ran the wet towel along Mitchell's flushed face. The coffee was a brilliant idea, and one he should have thought of. They'd been trying to get water into her all morning, but every time they thought they'd managed to get some into her, she'd throw it up – even though there wasn't anything left in her stomach to come with it. He'd held her as she retched, and clung to her tightly, trying to get her to wake up and talk to him, but this was the first time all morning that she'd been lucid enough to do more than mutter incoherently. Usually asking for her brother, or Jack, or Brad Anderson, but not acknowledging Jack when he responded to her. At least she seemed to be holding the coffee down. Apparently, she was still bound by her favorite rule: good coffee was not to be wasted.  
  
"We'll grab a bite to eat and then get going," Jack said to Teal'c as Daniel opened the bottom buttons of Mitchell's shirt and ran the towel along her belly and sides, as well. She was so fevered that Daniel was determined to cool her off as much as possible, barring stripping her down and pouring water all over her. Mitchell sighed, again, but didn't say anything, although the pained crease of her forehead seemed to ease a little, which gave Jack a little hope. He wondered how far ahead of them Carter and Anderson were. 


	22. 22

"I've never seen anything like it."  
  
They were in the briefing room about an hour after Carter and Anderson had returned to the SGC. Gathered around the table were SG-9, SG-14, Carter, Anderson, Hammond and Fraiser, who had just arrived from her lab. She'd taken samples from the dart that had been caught in Mitchell's cast, and yes, it was definitely a poison of some kind, but it wasn't anything she knew, and certainly wasn't anything she had an antidote for.  
  
"So you don't have an antidote?" Hammond asked.  
  
"No, Sir." She shook her head. "I'm going to try and simulate one – once I've had a chance to study the poison a little more, but it might take a while."  
  
Brad Anderson put his head in his hands, defeated, and Carter, who was sitting next to him reached out and put her hand on his shoulder in support, her agile mind considering other possibilities.  
  
"What about the Tok'ra?" She asked, both Hammond and Fraiser. "It's an alien poison, maybe they've seen it, or something like it?"  
  
Hammond looked over at Fraiser, who shrugged.  
  
"It's a good idea, Major. If we can get one of them to come and take a look."  
  
"I'm sure we can," Hammond said, certainly. "I'll have a message sent off to them, and hopefully by the time the rescue teams return with Colonel Mitchell, we'll have a remedy waiting for her."  
  
"How are we going to get her back here, Sir?" Carter asked. She and Brad had only just made it to the briefing, since both had been subjected to medical examinations and IV's to replace fluids lot in their run before they were allowed to leave the infirmary.  
  
"Major Kline came up with an idea, and I think it's a good one." Hammond told her, looking at both Carter and Anderson. "You're going to take 4- wheelers through the gate. They're small enough to get down here quickly, sturdy enough for the rough ground you mentioned, and fast enough that we can evacuate her immediately."  
  
The two Majors nodded.  
  
"When do we go?"  
  
"As soon as we get the 4-wheelers down here. They're already on the way. As soon as they're in the embarkation room, you'll have a go."  
  
~*~  
  
Carter and Anderson were both ordered to get something to eat while the 4- wheelers were being brought down to the SGC from the surface. The two did as they were told, although both were anxious to get back to their people now that their own little mission was accomplished. They went to the commissary for lunch – which was actually breakfast on Earth since the two planets were so different on their schedules because of the differences in hours per day. As they were eating, they could hear the roar of the 4- wheelers as they were brought down, and Carter actually made Anderson smile when she commented that the people driving them were probably never going to forget that one day that they went cruising on 4-wheelers through the SGC's corridors.  
  
Lunch eaten, the two headed down to the embarkation room, and saw it was crowded with vehicles and men. There were eight 4-wheelers, and two of them had specially designed carts that would be pulled behind them. One was carrying all the gear as well as extra fuel for the vehicles, and the other would be used to carry Mitchell back. It was specially fitted with an air mattress that would keep bumping to a minimum, and there was built in racks to hold IV's and other medical items that might be needed.  
  
Also going with SG-9 and SG-14, Carter and Anderson, was a doctor that would stabilize Colonel Mitchell on scene. Hammond watched them prepare, and Carter warned them once more about not firing any weapons. (Of course, there wasn't anything to fire their weapons at, anyways, but they couldn't chance someone making a mistake) Warnings given, and supplies all loaded, the teams got on their 4-wheelers – some doubled up, of course – and revved the engines as they watched the gate dial up.  
  
Anderson was the first one through when the wormhole was established. He was, after all, the only one who was positive about where to go, although Sam was pretty sure she could have found her way back as well. She was doubled up on his 4-wheeler, and her hands loosely grasping the folds of his jacket. She thought to remind him that hurrying and crashing wouldn't do Mitchell any good, but decided that if it were Colonel O'Neill out there waiting for help, she would be in just as much of a hurry as he was.  
  
They all stopped on the other side, and Anderson looked at the sun to see how much daylight they'd have. It wasn't going to be enough, he was certain, but the 4-wheelers all had lights, and they'd brought spotlights as well, so they could go in the dark. He wasn't the senior member of this group, but he was nominally in charge, due to the fact that he knew where to go.  
  
"We only have a couple hours of daylight," Anderson told the others. Which was weird for them, since the sun had barely come up back home. "The ground looks flat, but it's really bumpy, so be careful." He pointed to the trees. "That's where we're heading. I'm not sure how far Colonel O'Neill has managed to make it, so if we don't find them before dark, we'll have to slow down a bit." Just in case. He waited to see if any of them had any questions, but there were none. The SG teams were all experts when it came to search and rescues – they'd all gone off-world looking for lost teams before – and they were all just as anxious to find the team with the injured Colonel as Brad was. Well, no, they weren't as desperate as he was, but pretty close. 


	23. 23

Night had fallen, and they were forced to stop. They were right on the edge of the trees, now, and Jack thought for sure they'd make it back to the SGC the next day, and he intended to get on the move as soon as there was enough light to see by the next morning. There was no way, however, that he could risk going on now. Not with the sun down and the roughest ground ahead of them. So he'd stopped at the tree line where they'd have fuel to make a fire, and hope for the best. Certainly by now Sam and Anderson were at the SGC, and hopefully even as they were setting up camp, Fraiser was getting a syringe of antidote ready to send back through the gate. Unless of course, something had happened to the two Majors on their run, and they'd been injured, or there had been an ambush at the gate itself and they'd either been hurt, captured, killed or zapped away from the area.  
  
It wasn't likely, but it was enough of a possibility that Jack was forced to consider it. Which was the only reason he was forcing Melony to endure more traveling instead of waiting for the rescue to come to them. They just couldn't be 100 percent sure that a rescue was coming.  
  
Mitchell was fading fast. They couldn't get through to her, anymore. Her body was burning with fever and her muscles were seizing up on her, making her thrash in pain so badly that Jack had been forced to use a rope to keep her pinned to the stretcher. She mumbled constantly, deliriously, talking to people that only she could see, and occasionally holding an argument that only she understood. Every now and then she'd change languages, and would start talking to someone in German or Russian, and those times Daniel would occasionally answer her, trying to get a response of any sort out of her. It was all for naught, though, because whoever she was talking to, and wherever her mind was, it wasn't with SG-1 anymore, and it definitely wasn't on the same planet.  
  
When they stopped for the night, O'Neill had Teal'c pick her up and take her off the stretcher. He wanted to check the blankets for any looseness that might cause the stretcher to come apart the next day, and he wanted to take the time to get Mitchell changed over into some clean clothes. Hers were soiled from two days of nonstop being carried, and he didn't want to risk any more sickness than she was already facing. Besides, she was his responsibility, and he'd take care of her like he promised.  
  
He had to cut her shirt off her. He couldn't get the sleeve over the cast, or the swollen arm, and when he had her undressed, he took a damp cloth and bathed her tenderly with it, trying to cool and soothe her at the same time. When she started shivering, though, he took it as a sign that she'd had enough – even though she hadn't said anything, of course – and he gently redressed her in a clean uniform, which he'd cut the right sleeve off of. He covered her warmly, and tried to get her to drink something, but she kept mumbling that she didn't want water, she wanted coffee – which was what he was trying to give her – and when she began thrashing again, Jack gave up, and just wrapped his arms around her and held her.  
  
Daniel and Teal'c had the fire going by then, and Daniel brought him some dinner, but Jack shook his head. He wasn't hungry. He rocked her softly, certain that she wasn't going to make it through another fourteen-hour night, and determined that she wasn't going to be alone.  
  
"Anything I can do, Jack?" Daniel asked as he came over and sat on the other side of Mitchell. Teal'c had the first watch of the night, and he had carried his staff weapon out of the range of the firelight so he could see if anything were to approach.  
  
"No, Daniel." He brushed away a tear with his shoulder, and looked down at her mournfully. "This is the second member of the Mitchell family I've killed." He said, softly, giving in to the guilt that the pace of the day had managed to keep at bay. "I'm glad her parents aren't alive to see this..."  
  
"You didn't kill her, Jack. She's not dead."  
  
"She's not going to make it through the night..." Jack was giving up on her, now, Daniel saw.  
  
"You don't know that. She's tough. Look how far she's made it so far."  
  
"I know it. I know what she can handle and what she can't." Jack shook his head, hugging Melony even closer to himself, which elicited a gasp of pain from her. "First Michael, now her."  
  
"Jack..." It wasn't even a whisper. It was a breathless, pain-filled murmur of sound. Both men looked down at her, but her eyes weren't open, and she wasn't giving any sign that she'd said anything. Although they both knew it hadn't been them.  
  
"Melony?"  
  
"My... choice... Mike's... choice..."  
  
He sobbed, and pulled her close once more, burying his head in her uniform shirt and crying like a lost child. He didn't want to be the reason they'd died, damn it. It wasn't fair. He wasn't worth either of them.  
  
Daniel reached his hand out and laid it on O'Neill's shoulder, giving his friend the support that Mitchell couldn't give, and wishing there was something he could say.  
  
~*~  
  
Teal'c heard the noise first, and turned his head towards it. They'd been on this planet and in the trees long enough that he knew what belonged, and what didn't. And the faint noise he was hearing certainly didn't belong. He saw lights bobbing on the horizon, and the noises grew louder. He raised his staff weapon, pointing it in the direction of the possible threat.  
  
"O'Neill!"  
  
Jack raised his head, tears streaking and smearing his face, and looked over toward the sound of Teal'c's voice. He sniffed, wiping his nose on his shoulder, and tried to see what was wrong, but he couldn't see anything in the light of the fire, and he couldn't see anything past it.  
  
"Go see what he needs, Daniel." Jack said.  
  
Jackson nodded and stood up, then walked over to Teal'c. He didn't need to ask, though. He just looked the same way Teal'c was looking, and when he saw the lights bobbing on the horizon as well, he turned to Jack.  
  
"Someone's coming, Jack!"  
  
Whether it was good guys, or bad, he wasn't sure. But it was obvious that they weren't alone, anymore.  
  
~*~  
  
"There's a fire!" Anderson called to the others, who were driving close, but not too close. They didn't want to get into any wrecks, and they certainly couldn't afford to damage any of their equipment. The others all saw it as well – there wasn't a whole hell of a lot of other stuff to see in the darkness, after all – and they all turned their vehicles in that direction.  
  
It was less than twenty minutes later, when Anderson and Carter pulled to a stop, and found themselves facing the serious end of Teal'c's staff weapon and Daniel's Beretta. The two raised their hands quickly, but by then the Jaffa and the archeologist had recognized them, and the weapons were all put away. Anderson barely waited. He turned and headed towards the fire, and found that Jack O'Neill was crouched over Mitchell's body with his Beretta in his hand, his brown eyes as deadly serious as the weapon in his hand as he waited to see if there was danger to his charge or not.  
  
"Colonel?"  
  
Anderson moved closer, and O'Neill lowered the gun. 


	24. 24

"Sir?"  
  
Jack knew immediately what Anderson was asking, and as the younger man came over to kneel by his Commanding Officer, O'Neill shook his head.  
  
"I don't know, Anderson. She's not doing very well. Did you get an antidote?"  
  
"No, Sir," Jack could hear the fear and frustration in the Major's voice, and he felt his heart sink. For a moment, when he'd seen that help had arrived, he'd allowed himself a moment of hope. But without an antidote, he wasn't sure they were going to get Mitchell back to the gate alive, even with so many hands helping.  
  
He watched as Anderson ran his hand along her cheek, frowning at the fevered heat he felt there, and Jack looked up when the doctor Fraiser had sent with the rescue group came over and knelt down as well, pulling out all sorts of instruments that Jack was vaguely familiar with.  
  
"What have her symptoms been?" The doctor asked Jack.  
  
"She's been retching, fevered, and she's been delirious for the last day." He pointed at the arm that had been hit with the dart. "It's swollen and she's been lethargic, and I think she's been having muscle spasms."  
  
Immediately the doctor put an IV line into Mitchell's left hand, and bandaged it to keep it from getting dirty. The rest of the rescue team came over, looking down at O'Neill, waiting for instructions. It was obvious to them that they weren't going to stay put for the night, and O'Neill had no intention of waiting any longer than necessary once her saw that they had fast transportation.  
  
"As soon as the doc gets her stabilized, we're out of here." Jack said.  
  
"She's not going to stabilize," the doctor told him. "I can re-hydrate her, and I'm going to give her a muscle relaxant to keep the muscle spasms from occurring, but we can't do much more than that until we get her back to the SGC."  
  
"Let's get going, then," Jack said, standing up.  
  
~*~  
  
They carefully loaded Mitchell into the cart behind the 4-wheeler, and then there was an argument. The doctor wouldn't let O'Neill or Anderson either one ride with Melony, and remained adamant about it, even when Anderson and Jack both tried to bully him into allowing at least one of them to ride with her.  
  
"We'll move faster with less people in the cart, Sir," Carter said, trying to diffuse the situation, which was starting to look downright explosive. Jack's temper was short at the moment anyways, due to lack of sleep and worry, and Anderson wasn't in much better shape, and both men looked like they were ready to tackle the doctor.  
  
Jack grumbled, and Anderson complained bitterly, but in the end, they capitulated, and the group remounted their 4-wheelers and headed back to the SGC. Jack drove the 4-wheeler that was pulling Melony's cart, and Anderson and Carter were still on the one he'd driven out. This time, though, Anderson's responsibility was to get them back quickly and over the gentlest ground they could find, in order to not bump Mitchell any more than necessary. Sam held up a spotlight to help him see which route to take, and Jack followed closely behind, going much slower than he wanted to, but far more swiftly than they would be going if they were still walking.  
  
~*~  
  
When the gate engaged and SG-1's code came through, a crowd of people were called to the embarkation room. Fraiser had a team on standby with a gurney and all the medical equipment they'd need to stabilize Mitchell, and she had Jacob Carter with her, who'd only arrived through the Stargate an hour before in response to Hammond's call for help. They watched from the side of the room, since they knew the 4-wheelers were going to need more room than just people on foot would, and Hammond didn't want anyone run over.  
  
The gate flared, and the first vehicle came through. It was driven by Anderson, and the Major saw the crowd and aimed for a space where he could park and still leave plenty of room for the others.  
  
"Did you find-?"  
  
Hammond was interrupted when he saw the cart being driven by Jack come through the gate, and couldn't help but think that O'Neill looked like shit as the Colonel drove past. He was dirty, and rumpled, and his face was set in about the most serious expression Hammond had seen from Jack in a long time. The medical team swarmed over the cart as soon as O'Neill pulled to a stop, and Anderson and Jack were just as quick to join them, barking at the medics who seemed to be too rough when they pulled her out of the cart and onto the gurney.  
  
Fraiser put a stop to that immediately, and she ordered both the Major and the Colonel to step back. An order that Hammond had to repeat before either of them obeyed it. Mitchell was put on the gurney and rushed off to the infirmary, and Hammond refused to allow O'Neill and Anderson to follow. They'd only be in the way, and Hammond knew it. The two stood fidgeting as they watched the group of medics take off out the door, followed by Jacob Carter, who Jack was glad to see. Maybe he'd know something about the poison that Fraiser didn't. 


	25. 25

Hammond had told them they weren't allowed in the infirmary, but he hadn't denied them access to the corridor outside the infirmary, and that was where Anderson and O'Neill found themselves waiting. They were joined by Carter, Teal'c and Daniel – all of whom were somber and worried as well – and anyone who passed the sober group felt all the cheer just seep out of them at the sight.  
  
Jack was standing right by the door, leaning on the wall and staring at the ground as he tried to listen to what was going on inside the room. He could hear the murmur of voices, but he didn't know whose voice it was, or what was being said, and it was frustrating him. Anderson was on the floor, almost right at Jack's feet. His legs were just too tired and sore from the long run he'd made to be able to hold him up, or let him pace – which was what he'd originally been doing. He, too, was trying to hear what was going on, and with no better luck.  
  
Carter was sitting next to Anderson, and was leaning back against the wall, her eyes closed. Jack would have thought she was asleep if not for the constant movement of her hands, which were practically wringing each other nervously as she waited as well. She didn't know Mitchell well, but she liked what she'd learned of her and about her, and besides, the Colonel was important to Jack O'Neill – who Carter DID love and know well. Not to mention she wanted to be there for Anderson, who was looking so drawn and haggard that Sam was amazed he was even still awake. She'd have thought he'd have passed out long before if not for his concern, and Sam would every now and then rest her hand on his leg, comfortingly, so he'd remember he wasn't alone in this time of worry.  
  
Teal'c and Daniel had the other side of the door from Jack covered. Daniel was in almost the exact mirror position of O'Neill; his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall, and a concerned expression on his face. Teal'c looked as though he were ready to break down the door any minute. Of course, Teal'c always looked so serious anyways that you never really knew what he was feeling or thinking unless you knew him well, but the almost constant frown he sported was even more pronounced as he waited with his teammates to find out the fate of one of their own.  
  
Along the hallway, the rest of the off-duty personnel of the SGC were also waiting to find out what was going on. The SG teams as well as the security personnel were all quiet as well, and they were all brooding and burdened with thoughts of worst-case scenarios – even though no one spoke of them aloud.  
  
It was more than an hour later when the door opened and Janet Fraiser walked out. She stopped when she saw the amount of people waiting – Melony was, after all, popular and well-loved – then beckoned Anderson and SG-1 into the room. The others would have to wait.  
  
Jacob was standing at the head of the bed they'd put Mitchell in, and the Tok'ra looked as somber as the rest of them felt, which was a bad sign as far as Jack was concerned. Hammond was there as well, although the General was out of the way, watching quietly as they all filed in.  
  
"Did you get her stable?" Anderson asked, softly, his blue eyes going to his Commanding Officer, who looked far paler than the sheet she was lying on.  
  
Fraiser shook her head, her eyes haunted. She hated giving bad news, and felt the same aching failure that she did every time her medical experience just wasn't enough to combat an injury that was beyond her. Such as this one.  
  
"I can't get her to stabilize. Her blood pressure's dropping, her pulse rate is slowing, and whatever else this poison's doing to her, it appears her organs are starting to shut down, now, too. The machines aren't going to be able to keep up for long."  
  
"She's dying, then?" Jack asked, his eyes bleak.  
  
"Dad? You've never seen it, either?" Carter asked, running her hand along Brad Anderson's back, since she could see the man looked about to go into shock.  
  
Jacob shook his head. Even he looked distraught, and he didn't know Mitchell at all. "I could probably eventually simulate an antidote – given enough time – but she doesn't have very much time, and by then it'd be too late. I even tried using your Goa'uld healing device, but it didn't even slow it down."  
  
"There's nothing we can do?" Anderson asked, helplessly, bowing his head under the weight of his grief. There HAD to be something. Anything.  
  
"A sarcophagus." Jacob said.  
  
"Which we don't have," Jack reminded him, his voice dead as he walked over and rested his hand on Mitchell's left arm. The right one was bandaged from hand to shoulder – and Fraiser had removed the cast. Jack wondered if he should have removed the cast, himself, and he knew he was going to be plagued with what-ifs for the rest of his life.  
  
"A symbiote?" Daniel asked, unsure what kind of reaction that was going to bring, but feeling that someone had to bring it up.  
  
Anderson's head came up, and he looked at Jacob, who looked at Jack. Anderson looked at Jack as well. O'Neill paled. That wasn't an option he wanted to consider. He wanted an antidote, damn it. An easy way out that didn't require them making a decision that would change Mitchell's life forever.  
  
"Would a symbiote be able to heal her this far along?" Sam asked Jacob.  
  
"Yes," he said, carefully, keeping his voice as neutral as he could. As far as he was concerned, the only thing – short of a sarcophagus – that could save the ailing Colonel was to get her a symbiote to blend with her. "A poison is far easier to deal with from the inside out."  
  
"Colonel?" Sam looked at Jack, who bit his lower lip, and shook his head.  
  
"I don't know..."  
  
"She respects the Tok'ra," Anderson said softly, looking down at the still figure in the bed. He wasn't convinced that a symbiote was the way to go, either, but Anderson didn't have quite the same prejudices that Jack did, and he was probably more willing to consider it than O'Neill was. All Jack could think of was Kowalski, and how his friend had been taken over by the snake that had invaded the first leader of SG-2. He was having trouble thinking past that to Jacob Carter, who truly benefited from the snake in his head.  
  
"Is it something she'd want?" Jacob asked, softly. This wasn't something to be decided quickly. Unfortunately, in this case it had to be. They were losing precious time.  
  
"I don't know."  
  
Jack was trying to be impartial. And trying to look beyond the fact that if he allowed a blending with a symbiote, then she'd live, and it wouldn't be his fault that she was dead. Of course, he also knew that if she lived because of the symbiote, then there was a very real chance that she might have preferred to die, and would hate or resent him the rest of her life – which would be far longer than the normal course of a regular human's life. He just didn't know, and the indecision was so plain to see in his eyes and expression that Sam felt her heart go out to him.  
  
"There's no way we can wake her up enough to ask her?" Anderson asked.  
  
Fraiser shook her head. She wasn't going to wake up again. Not on her own, anyways.  
  
Jack wished he could pinch himself and wake up from this horrible nightmare. This just couldn't be happening to him. To her. He scowled, but it wasn't the angry scowl, it was the one he wore when he was perplexed, or puzzling over something, and he sighed. There wasn't a choice. Not really. He looked over at Anderson, who knew Melony as well as he did – maybe better – and saw in the clear blue eyes of the Major's gaze that the younger man had already come to the same conclusion. They couldn't lose her. Not like this.  
  
"Do you know of a symbiote that's available?" Jack asked Jacob without looking away from Anderson's gaze. "A good one?"  
  
Whatever that was supposed to mean, he thought to himself. But he saw Anderson nod, almost imperceptibly, and he knew the younger man understood what he meant, even if Jacob and the others didn't.  
  
"I can find one, Jack." Jacob said. There were always symbiotes who needed new hosts, and Jacob already could think of one in particular that the Tok'ra were closed to losing and couldn't afford to lose.  
  
"Better go get it." Jack said, still not turning from the young Major. Anderson nodded his agreement, his own expression still bleak, but a determined set to his jaw line showing O'Neill that he was going to stand behind the decision.  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
Jack nodded.  
  
"George?"  
  
She was under Hammond's chain of command, after all, and Jacob knew the General actually had the final say. Hammond nodded. O'Neill and Anderson knew Mitchell best, and if the two of them were willing, then he was, as well. He trusted their opinions, and knew they were making the best choice they could in a situation where there really wasn't any choice to make.  
  
"I'll need to use the Gate, then," Jacob said, heading for the door. The decision made, they really didn't have any time to waste.  
  
"I'll go with you," Sam said, following him out. Teal'c and Daniel went as well, followed by Hammond, leaving Fraiser alone with Anderson and O'Neill, and her patient. Janet couldn't even imagine what the two men were going through, but she decided they should have a minute to themselves, and she excused herself from the room, although she didn't go beyond the door, in case she was needed. 


	26. 26

"Do you really think this is for the best?" Jack asked softly once the others had left them alone. He looked down at Mitchell, who he knew wasn't going to open her eyes and tell him to get lost, or tell him to stop worrying, or tell him to go get her a cup of coffee like he was her personal servant.  
  
"I don't know, Sir." Anderson said softly. He was just as lost as Jack was, and it plainly showed. "I don't want her to die, though."  
  
"Me, either."  
  
The two men were on either side of the bed, but they looked up at the same time, brown eyes meeting blue, and they both could see the concern and very real love the other had for the injured woman. The love was a little different, of course, but the intensity was the same, and there was no denying it.  
  
"If we're wrong, then she'll hate us." Jack said.  
  
Anderson shook his head. Melony would never hate Jack O'Neill. There was no way. Himself? Well, yeah, she could, but she'd be alive, and alive was so much better than dead.  
  
"She loves you, Sir." He said, his eyes filling with tears that he hadn't allowed to come before. He didn't brush them away, though, and he wasn't embarrassed by them. "You're her constant reminder of what Michael could have been, and would have been, and I don't think you have any idea how much she looks up to you."  
  
Jack was taken back slightly by that. Not that he was surprised that she'd told Anderson about Michael – he was her Second in Command, and Melony was far more open with her past than Jack was – but that Anderson had been willing to share that with him. The younger man was obviously trying to make Jack feel better about what was happening, and trying to reassure him that he wasn't going to lose this very important person in his life. A reassurance that Jack needed, and Anderson knew he needed. It was a sign of what kind of man Anderson was, and he was probably close to being good enough for Melony. (No one would be completely good enough for her, in Jack's opinion, but that was only natural)  
  
"This will change that." Jack said, gruffly, as his own emotions threatened to take over. He quelled them, though, ruthlessly. They couldn't both break down.  
  
"No, Sir, it won't." Anderson didn't say anything else. His tired legs were threatening to give out on him, so he sank into a folding chair that was close at hand, after dragging it over to the bed so he could still be close at hand. Leaning forward, he rested his forearms on the edge of Mitchell's bed, and put his head down on them, suddenly feeling older than dirt. Jack understood that feeling well.  
  
He didn't think Anderson was right, but he wasn't going to kick the man in the gut by arguing with him when he least needed it. Looking around, Jack found another chair, and brought it over to his side of the bed, and assumed a position similar to Anderson's: head down, just close enough to Melony that he could feel the radiating heat of her fevered side, and his eyes closed as he tried to think of something – anything – that would fix this. Of course, nothing came to mind.  
  
~*~  
  
It wasn't even an hour later when the door to the infirmary opened once more. Jack looked up at the sound, as did Anderson, and both men stood when they saw Jacob had returned, accompanied by a very old man who was walking slowly, and who Jacob was treating with profound care and respect.  
  
"Jack, Major Anderson, this is Haidar. His symbiote is named Talon."  
  
Both men came over to take the old man's hand formally.  
  
"Talon?" Jack asked. It didn't sound like much of a Tok'ra name to Jack – although he was hardly the expert, was he? Haidar smiled, and the man's silvery gray eyes twinkled with humor.  
  
"My symbiote was originally called by a different name, but in my original tongue the name meant something wildly inappropriate, and I fell into giggles every time anyone addressed me as such. He wasn't as amused, and changed it. One hundred and forty years is a long time to have your host laughing at you."  
  
Anderson smiled, despite his rough day, and even Jack couldn't suppress a slight grin. He liked this old man, already. What did that say about the symbiote?  
  
Haidar looked past the two men and at the figure who was lying on the bed.  
  
"This is her?"  
  
"Colonel Melony Mitchell," Jack confirmed, letting go of Haidar's hand and watching as the old man walked over and looked down at her. Jack had a feeling host and symbiote were conferring. It wasn't Haidar who spoke next, though, it was Talon. The voice was deep and not at all frail.  
  
"You two know her best?"  
  
Anderson and O'Neill both nodded, wordlessly.  
  
"What sort of person is she?"  
  
"The best." Anderson said, immediately. Jack nodded his agreement.  
  
"Are you certain this is something she would want?"  
  
Jack shook his head, silently, and Anderson once more took the role of speaker.  
  
"We can't ask her," He said. "But she respects the Tok'ra, and she hates the Goa'uld." What else was there?  
  
"Talon is a scientist," Jacob said from the other side of the room where he'd been standing next to Hammond watching the exchange.  
  
"Melony's a soldier." Jack told him, and the old man. "She's not going to want to sit in a lab looking at rocks all day."  
  
Haidar smiled again, and nodded, and when next he spoke, it was him, and not Talon who was doing the talking.  
  
"Talon has been confined to the lab for a long time due to my weaknesses. Far too long. It will be good for him to have a young host once more. One who will challenge him. The blending will be a good one for both of them, I believe."  
  
Jack swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded.  
  
"We'd better get to it, then."  
  
Fraiser came up, watching Jacob and Haidar to see if there was anything she could do. Jacob told O'Neill and Anderson to step back – to avoid anything accidentally happening in the exchange – and the old man leaned over Mitchell's bed and kissed her, softly.  
  
None of them actually saw the exchange, but the affect was instantaneous. The old man's legs gave out, and he slumped and would have fallen had Jacob not caught him. The Tok'ra had known it was going to happen and was ready for it. He and Fraiser carefully lifted Haidar and put him in the bed next to Mitchell's.  
  
"No!"  
  
The mouth the cry came from was Melony's, but the voice was definitely Talon's. Jack looked at Jacob, instantly, wondering what was wrong.  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"I don't know Jack," Jacob told him, easing a blanket over Haidar's feeble frame. "We won't know until they can tell us."  
  
"He's dying," Fraiser said, looking at the old man's face as she was checking his pulse. Jacob nodded. Of course he was. He was almost 200 years old, and worn out.  
  
"Without the symbiote, he will not live long. But he's in no pain."  
  
"What about Melony?" Anderson asked, coming back over and looking down at his Commanding Officer.  
  
"We'll have to wait until Talon can repair the damage done, and heal her, Major. Then we'll see."  
  
There was no doubt that waiting was not something that Jack and Anderson wanted to do. 


	27. 27

Hephalerol?  
  
~Talon~  
  
Shithead.  
  
Mitchell didn't see a smile, but she felt a surge of gentle humor that lightened her heart.  
  
~Talon~ He corrected, once more, patiently.  
  
Talon. She agreed, and once more she felt that gentle, careful humor emitting from the entity that was so close he had to be inside her. Who are you?  
  
~ A solution to your very serious problem. As you are to my own~  
  
She was silent as he explained to her what had happened in simple terms since she was still far from completely recovered, both mentally and physically. It was a good sign that she was already well enough to understand him at all, and Talon knew it. His new host was far more robust than most.  
  
~Your friends are very concerned about you~  
  
He shared with her an image of Jack and Brad both hovering around her, concern on their features, and then he shared with her the conversation he'd had with them before taking her as his new host. They were upset, and feared that she would be upset with them. Melony could understand that, since if the positions were reversed it was not something she could have chosen easily for either of the two men that she loved so much.  
  
What happens now, Talon? She asked him silently.  
  
~We wait until you're completely recovered, and ready to leave, then we take the fight to the Goa'uld~  
  
Talon had his own ideas about the Goa'uld, and he shared a bit of this with his new host, although he limited what he shared. For now, she was still too weak to be overwhelmed with his own very real vindictiveness. But he couldn't hide it from her completely, and he felt her agreement. She'd kill Goa'uld with him willingly. But she wouldn't forsake her friends, or her world. Not for him, or anyone else. She had her own oaths to fulfill, after all.  
  
~We have the same desires, Melony~ He told her, assuring her that he required nothing from her that would impinge on her honor. ~Now sleep and be still. You are far from healed, and it's easier for me to heal you when you're quiet~  
  
She did as she was told, and fell into a deeper state of rest, one that was far more peaceful. Talon shared with her the calmest and most gentle memories he had, helping to ease her into restfulness. He liked his new host already, and could feel that she liked him, too. It was going to be the best blending ever.  
  
~*~  
  
"It's working."  
  
Jack and Anderson both looked at Fraiser, who'd been monitoring Mitchell closely since the transfer had taken place. For a long time, it hadn't seemed to be working, and even Jacob was worried about the health of the symbiote. The yell during the transfer had him wondering what had went wrong, although Selmac had assured him it could have been anything, and wasn't necessarily a bad thing.  
  
"She's getting better?" Anderson asked, for the first time feeling hope.  
  
Fraiser shrugged. "She's resting more comfortably, anyways. Her blood pressure is rising, and her pulse seems to be stabilizing." They'd turned the beeping machine off hours ago, after Haidar had passed. It had just been adding to everyone's irritability, and there was enough tension in the room already, Fraiser had decided. She didn't need the beeping, anyways, to tell her what was going on.  
  
"When will she wake up?" Jack asked.  
  
"When they're ready," Jacob said, knowing from experience. "Don't worry, Jack. If she's made it this far, then she's going to make it."  
  
It was quite a promise to make, but Jacob felt secure in making it.  
  
"You two should go get some rest," Janet told them. Both Jack and Anderson looked like hell.  
  
"I'm not leaving her," Brad said, instantly, although he was painfully aware he didn't have the rank to back that statement up.  
  
"Me, either."  
  
"I'll have something brought up for you to eat, then, and you'll eat it, or I'll have you kicked out of here. Understood?"  
  
Both nodded, knowing they were getting off easy, and Fraiser walked out of the room with Jacob.  
  
"You're sure she'll make it?" She asked the Tok'ra.  
  
"Yes."  
  
~*~  
  
"Does she look any better to you?" Jack asked, standing up and looking down at Mitchell intently. She didn't look any better to him.  
  
"No." Anderson wasn't going to feel she looked better until she was up and moving, and he'd had a chance to talk to her about what they'd done to her.  
  
"Fraiser's the best."  
  
Brad wondered who Colonel O'Neill was trying to convince. He sighed, and lowered his head back onto his arms, which were resting on the right side of Mitchell's bed. A moment later, Jack did the same thing on his side, and the two continued their vigil in silence. 


	28. 28

~Melony~  
  
She was pulled from that peaceful emptiness at his purely mental touch, instantly alert to him.  
  
Hmmm?  
  
~Your friends are worried about you. You're well enough, now, why don't you open your eyes and let them know you're going to be okay?~  
  
Am I?  
  
There was amusement, but then he realized she was serious. She didn't want to tell them she was going to live and then not make it. Talon sent her an affirmation.  
  
~You're going to be fine. I've repaired most of the damage to your body. Wake up and reassure them~  
  
Melony opened her eyes, and promptly closed them again with a gasp of pain. The light was a bit bright in the infirmary, and she'd had her eyes closed for a long time.  
  
Jack and Brad both had their heads up instantly at the noise, and both looked down at her, then at each other to see if they'd just been hearing things. If they had, then they'd been hearing the same thing.  
  
"Melony?"  
  
"Jack?"  
  
She opened her eyes again, and turned her head. It was Jack. He looked tired, and worn, and uncertain, but she also saw relief in those dark eyes of his.  
  
"Thank God."  
  
He took her hand. She didn't see this, she felt it, but she knew it was his, and she squeezed it lightly to reassure him. Then she turned her head. Talon had said Brad was here as well, and she wanted to see him, too.  
  
His blue eyes were just as worried as Jack's. His handsome face just as drawn and haggard. Mitchell held her left hand up to him, and the Major took it with a glad noise that he couldn't have stifled if he'd wanted to.  
  
"Colonel..." Tears were streaming down his already grubby tear-stained cheeks, and she tried to reassure him as well, taking her hand from Jack's and resting it on the back of Brad's neck, pulling him close. He understood immediately, and wrapped his arms around her, carefully, and hugged her as tightly as he dared. And broke down completely, sobbing against her.  
  
"Easy, Brad..." She whispered, turning her head and looking at Jack. O'Neill looked just as distraught, and his eyes were misty and uncertain, but he didn't need the reassurance that her Second in Command did, so Melony focused her attention for the moment on her Major.  
  
"I'm sorry... we didn't know what to do..." His voice was broken, and his words were slurred since his face was tightly pressed against her, but she understood, and she ran her fingers through his dark hair, trying to soothe him.  
  
"It's okay, Brad," She murmured into his ear. "It's okay. I'm okay..."  
  
She didn't know how long she held him like that while he cried, and she didn't care. Talon kept her upright, and gave her all the strength she needed to stay in the same position – as uncomfortable as it was – for as long as Brad needed her. She told him over and over she was fine, and he was fine, and everything was going to be okay, and eventually the sobs quieted, and turned to sniffles, and then died completely.  
  
He pulled back, still holding her, but not quite so tightly, and Melony smiled. He looked terrible. Even worse than he had.  
  
"You're not taking very good care of yourself, Major." She noted.  
  
His smile was only half-forced, and he shook his head.  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
"You look sorry." Her hand squeezed his to let him know she was only teasing him. "Go take a shower and get some rest. Then find some clean clothes and come back and see me when you don't smell so bad."  
  
He laughed, then. Only a short noise, but it was true laughter, and it made her smile. She felt Talon's amusement as well, and put her hand on Anderson's cheek.  
  
"Go. Then come back. But not until you've rested, and I mean it."  
  
"Yes, Ma'am."  
  
He didn't stand up, though, and he didn't release her. He just looked at her. She understood, but she didn't want to be gawked at. Not even by the one she loved.  
  
"Go."  
  
He went. There was a far lighter step in his stride when he headed for the door, and Melony watched him all the way out the door before she turned her attention to Jack.  
  
His eyes still held uncertainty, and she didn't understand it, but Talon did. He'd seen the same look when Major Anderson had told him that they didn't know for sure if Melony would want the blending or not. Jack was still uncertain if she was going to hate him for the rest of his life.  
  
"You know what we did?" Jack asked, his posture as uncertain as his expression.  
  
"Oh yeah."  
  
She reached her hand out and took his. There was a bandage on hers, and she realized this was the arm that had been hit with the dart. The bandages were loose, because the swelling had been taken care of, and they'd have to come off before they drove her crazy, but that would wait.  
  
Jack took her hand, understanding exactly how Brad had felt when he'd broken down, but trying very hard not to do the same. He needed to know how she truly felt. Not how she felt because he was crying and she was trying to comfort him.  
  
"I didn't know what else to do..."  
  
"You saved my life, Jack." She smiled when she was corrected from the inside. "Okay, TALON saved my life, but you made it possible." She shook her head, and looked down at the hand that she was holding. "I never could have made that decision for you. I can't imagine how hard it was."  
  
Jack stood up and then sat on the edge of her bed, and pulled her into his arms. He needed to hold her, now. Needed to make sure that she really was all right.  
  
"Is he okay? This Talon? Did I make the right call?"  
  
Her cheek pressed against his chest, and she nodded.  
  
"It's weird having him in there, but it's kind of cool, too. I guess he's some kind of egg-head type, because I feel a lot smarter than I did before."  
  
"He yelled something as soon as he... went into you..." Jack said, hugging her tightly, still. "We were worried that something was wrong."  
  
She was quiet while she waited for an explanation from her symbiote, which came instantly.  
  
"He said I was just about beyond his abilities to heal, and that he was yelling at me, not at you guys."  
  
"Ah."  
  
"You probably should go do what I just sent Brad to do, Jack."  
  
"I don't want to leave you alone, Melony."  
  
"I'm not alone. I never will be." She turned her head and kissed his cheek – something she hadn't done for a long time. Far too long. "You smell. Go get cleaned up at least, okay? I can't believe Fraiser let you in here looking like that."  
  
"I was pretty insistent."  
  
"You?"  
  
Jack smiled. She was so good at making him smile.  
  
"You're really okay?"  
  
"I'm tired. But I'm fine, and I will be fine." She pulled away, slightly. "Just don't be gone too long, okay?"  
  
"I won't." He promised. He stood up and headed for the door.  
  
"And get me some coffee, will you?"  
  
"Yes, Ma'am." 


	29. 29

Author's note: This one is a little short, but definitely necessary!  
  
Jack met SG-1 in the hall when he left the infirmary, and could see they were all waiting for more information on Mitchell's condition – as were a large handful of other SGC members who had been coming and going as their duty shifts permitted. He smiled, and saw Carter relax marginally.  
  
"She's awake."  
  
They knew this. Anderson had just left the room, and he'd told them that. They hadn't asked him how she was doing, though, since he'd looked pretty shaken.  
  
"How is she?" Carter asked. This question was loaded, because Sam knew that Jack was struggling with the choice he'd made, and that he'd been afraid what Mitchell would think of him, and the choice of giving her to the Tok'ra like he had.  
  
"She's doing good, Carter. She likes this Talon, and seems to be okay with things."  
  
"How are you?" Another loaded question, since he knew Sam wasn't asking about his physical health.  
  
"I'm doing okay, Sam. Thanks. I want to go talk to Hammond before I go get cleaned up, though. He's already been talking to Jacob and the President about Melony, and I want to know what's going to happen to her now." He wasn't going to let them all forget that she was still important to them all.  
  
The last person you'd have expected to deliver a cup of coffee delivered the coffee to Mitchell about ten minutes after Jack had walked out the door. Hammond knocked softly on the door, and then walked in, and Mitchell was surprised to see he was carrying a small tray.  
  
"As you were," Hammond said, as Melony started to get out of her bed to come to attention. She relaxed, and watched as he walked over and set the tray over her legs. It held an entire pot of coffee, a plate of cookies and a bowl of soup with a couple of sandwiches. With two cups, which meant that she was going to have company – or that Hammond was going to stay and keep her company, himself. Mitchell looked down, wondering if she was supposed to eat all that by herself – she knew she could drink the entire pot of coffee, and she was hungry, so one of the sandwiches would go down well, and maybe the soup – but the plate of cookies was daunting.  
  
"Thank you, Sir."  
  
Hammond sat down and snagged a couple of her cookies, watching her intently.  
  
"How do you feel, Colonel?"  
  
"Am I still a Colonel, Sir?" She asked, wondering what was going to happen to her, now. Obviously this wasn't something that happened all that often, and there wasn't a handbook on it. Mitchell felt a pang of loss when she thought about leaving the SGC and SG-2 in particular.  
  
Hammond gave her a sharp look, and nodded.  
  
"Let's get that out of the way right now, Colonel." And this time he emphasized her rank, firmly. "As far as I'm concerned, and the president is concerned, you're still a member of the United States Air Force, and still riding the books with your current rank. We're not going to lose a fine officer to a stupid accident, or to the Tok'ra. You'll be doing whatever it is you need to do, of course, but you'll still be an Air Force officer. Just on special assignment to the Tok'ra."  
  
She nodded, feeling better. The military had been her entire life, after all, and all her friends were in the military.  
  
"What about my team, Sir?"  
  
"Unless you have any objections, I'll give SG-2 to Major Anderson. He's proven himself capable of a command."  
  
"I don't have any objections, Sir." He was a good choice, as far as she was concerned. Of course, she could be a little biased. She felt a surge of humor from Talon, who by now knew exactly what she felt for Brad.  
  
Hush.  
  
I didn't say anything Another glimmer of humor, this one laced with false innocence.  
  
Keep it that way.  
  
Yes, Ma'am  
  
Great, her symbiote had already caught on to the things that annoyed her most. Mitchell smiled. This was going to be so interesting.  
  
"So," Hammond said, unaware of the silent exchange. "Do you have any other concerns?"  
  
She shook her head. He'd done far more than she could have hoped. "No, Sir."  
  
"Then we'll go back to my original question. How do you feel, Colonel?"  
  
"I'm fine, Sir. A little tired, but getting better every minute."  
  
"And Talon?"  
  
"He's fine, too, General."  
  
"Good." Hammond leaned back in his chair, and took a bite of one of her cookies. He rarely had a chance to just sit and chat, and since everyone else had been kicked out of the infirmary, he had that chance, now, and was going to take it. "Drink your coffee, Colonel, and eat."  
  
She nodded, and poured a cup of coffee for him and then another for herself. 


	30. 30

Hammond stayed in the infirmary and chatted with Colonel Mitchell for over an hour – which was a long time when you're the person in charge of such a complex military base as the SGC. They didn't really talk much about the future, though. He asked her for her own version of what had happened in the pyramid, and she told him what she could of their entire last trip through the Stargate, but she couldn't remember anything about the trip back. Which was no big deal, since Hammond had everyone else's version, and they were all close enough that they would do for his report. He was a good listener, and she gave a very good report – of course, they were in the military, so they were good at reports.  
  
He listened to her story, but didn't take notes – he had an excellent memory – and then he asked her a few questions to clarify some point or the other. Nothing too exhausting, and nothing too complicated, since Fraiser had warned him she might not be at 100 percent just yet. Finally, when they'd finished off the last of the coffee, and Hammond had polished off the last sandwich, he told her he'd better get back to work before the whole base crumbled around them.  
  
"Jacob is leaving tonight," Hammond said, softly, as he gathered the tray and plates and cups. "Are you planning on going with him?"  
  
She shook her head, but it was Talon who answered, taking over Melony's voice for the first time.  
  
"The Tok'ra can manage without us for a few days, while Melony gets her things in order and has a chance to say goodbye to her friends. Selmac and Jacob will have to go without us."  
  
"I'll let him know, Talon."  
  
The Tok'ra gave back control to Mitchell, who cleared her throat and gave Hammond an odd smile.  
  
"That was weird."  
  
He grinned, remembering the first time Jacob had done that deep voice symbiote-talking thing.  
  
"You'll probably get used to it."  
  
"Or I'll just do all the talking for us, so I don't sound like I need a cough drop all the time."  
  
Hammond laughed, and headed for the door, which opened just before he reached it. It was Doctor Fraiser, coming to check on her patient. She nodded to Hammond, who smiled, and left.  
  
"How do you feel, Colonel?"  
  
"I'm getting tired of everyone asking me that." She said, scowling.  
  
"Talon?"  
  
The symbiote gave a purely mental chuckle, and took control once more.  
  
"She's fine, Doctor. Her injuries are mostly healed, although she will still tire easily for a short time."  
  
"Does she need to stay in bed?"  
  
"It'd probably be better if she didn't." It was Melony's turn to chuckle quietly, and Talon's turn to tell her to hush. Melony took control of her voice again, and smiled at the doctor.  
  
"So? Can I get out of here?"  
  
Fraiser took her blood pressure, and checked her pupils and reflexes, then reached for a pair of scissors and started cutting the bandages off the young Colonel's arm.  
  
"If you get light-headed, or start to feel ill, I want you to come back immediately." She said, firmly.  
  
"I won't."  
  
"Just humor me, okay?"  
  
"Okay. Light-headed and ill, I come back. Gotcha."  
  
"And I don't want you to let this symbiote thing go to your head, Colonel."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Don't go jump in front of a train just to see how long it'll take Talon to heal you, or start poking yourself with a fork or something. He doesn't make you Superman."  
  
Melony laughed. She hadn't even thought of doing something like that.  
  
"I'll keep that in mind."  
  
"You do that."  
  
Fraiser brought her a uniform, and Mitchell dressed quickly, worried that she might change her mind at any minute. She was more than eager to get out of the infirmary.  
  
"Thanks, Doc."  
  
"You're welcome."  
  
The SG teams had a lounge that they could hang out in on their off-duty hours. It was a good place for the units to unwind a little after a mission, or just when they had some free time, and one of the few places that they could go and not worry about the world coming to an end if they wanted to sit and eat a few peanuts and play some cards. The minute she left the infirmary and saw that the corridor was empty, this lounge was where Melony headed, looking for information on her team.  
  
"Colonel!"  
  
The minute she opened the door, she was swarmed. The men and women of the other SG teams – except SG-1 and SG-2 (Simmons and Wilson both having been sent home on recuperative leave, Anderson who knew where, hopefully resting) – came over and greeted her cheerfully. They'd heard how close it was for her, and they'd also heard about her new symbiote. News like that traveled fast in a tight-knit group like these. They also had heard that she was going to be fine, and that she liked Talon, so they didn't have to worry about any awkward moment when they all first saw her. Instead, there was a multitude of handshakes and slaps on the back and shoulders, and someone put a beer into her hand before she could decline. She was filled with good coffee, and didn't want to drown it out with beer.  
  
"Hey you all." She said, smiling. She looked around, hoping to see Brad or one of the members of SG-1, but when she didn't, she settled for chatting with the rest of them, and was immediately offered a chair at one of the poker games that seemed to always be going on. She decline, however, and after chatting with them all for a while, and assuring them she was fine, she went to look for Samantha Carter. Talon wanted to make a request. 


	31. 31

Author's Note: I was using the thing to denote when Talon was speaking, but for some reason they're not making it through from my Word, to the posted finished product, so I'm changing it – since I HAVE to be able to differentiate the two of them. Talon will now be [ and ]. Just so you know!  
  
...  
  
Carter's lab was deserted, as Mitchell should have known it would be – and would have, if she'd thought about it. Either the Major was off with Jacob, using the fact that the Tok'ra was here to spend a little quality time with her father, or she was off with Jack. Who was supposed to be resting, from what Fraiser had told her before she'd left the infirmary.  
  
Melony looked around the place with interest. SHE didn't have a clue what half – even less, maybe a quarter – of the things in here were, but Talon did, and he wanted to explore it. Only Melony's good manners, and the fact that you simply didn't go somewhere you weren't asked to go – especially on a Military base – kept him in check.  
  
[I was hoping her lab would be so well-stocked]  
  
You're going to build something?  
  
[You're going to, I'm just going to show you how] She felt that wave of good-humor again, and smiled.  
  
It'll have to wait.  
  
[There's no hurry]  
  
There wasn't, either. She could feel that from him. He was more than willing to stay on Earth as long as she needed them to. There were things she needed to take care of, and loose ends that needed to be tied.  
  
[And one Major who definitely is ready for that heart to heart]  
  
She nodded, even though there was no one in the lab to see it, and felt him laughing at her mentally once more. She turned the light off and left Carter's lab, and went to look for Brad Anderson.  
  
...  
  
A quick stop at the office of the Officer of the Day informed her that Anderson wasn't on the base. Jack had sent him home to rest where he would actually get some rest, and Melony sighed, although Talon was looking forward to experiencing the outside of the base. She signed out with the OD, and told him she'd have her cell phone with her if anyone needed her, then headed for the elevator.  
  
Mitchell wasn't a possessive person. Being in the Military, she didn't have a ton of clothing, since there was pretty much only one thing she could wear 5 or 6 days out of the week, anyways. She owned her house – which was a modest 3 bedroom split level in a decent neighborhood – and only owned it because her grandfather had told her a long time ago when she was still in school that there was nothing better than owning a house where you could put a nail and not have to worry about someone else bitching about it. So she'd bought a house. Other than that, though, there was only one other thing she owned, and it was by far her favorite thing in the world, and was her pride and joy. And it was waiting for her out in the covered parking lot.  
  
The 1966 Shelby Mustang Convertible was a beautiful car, and in perfect condition. It was superbly maintained, and ran better than it had even brand new. Not that she'd been around then, but that's what everyone told her. The car had been her brother's, and he'd gotten it from their father. When Michael had been killed, there had been the usual Military life insurance check, but along with that, there'd been a note in his will making it perfectly clear that if anything happened to him, his sister was going to get his car. And she cherished it like the treasure it was.  
  
The evening was a calm one, and since the car had been parked under cover, there was no reason to have the top up. She admired it for a minute, like she always did, then got in and started it up. A few minutes later she was off the base and on her way to Anderson's.  
  
He lived in an apartment. A nice apartment, yes, but it was an apartment. Mitchell hadn't understood at first why that was, when she knew he had enough savings that he could have a house of he wanted one, but Anderson had explained it to her. He wasn't sure how long he'd be in Colorado, and he hated the idea of falling for some real nice house only to sell it and look for another if he was transferred. So instead, he lived in an apartment, where he wouldn't have to worry about pulling up roots if he moved.  
  
Mitchell parked her car outside Anderson's building, and hesitated. It was pretty late, and he'd been tired. Maybe this could wait until the next day?  
  
[Coward]  
  
No. Yeah.  
  
[You'll be fine]  
  
Yeah? Got any advice?  
  
[Oh, no!] She felt him distance himself as much as he could, so that she wouldn't feel his emotions mixing in with her own, and she sighed.  
  
Coward.  
  
With that last little jab at Talon, who didn't reply with words or emotions, she got out of the car and walked into the building.  
  
...  
  
"When will you be back?"  
  
Jacob shrugged, and hugged Sam again.  
  
"Who knows? When Colonel Mitchell and Talon are ready to join us, I might come, if we need to let them know a different place to come. Otherwise it'll be whenever necessity deems."  
  
Jacob Carter was standing in the embarkation room with a small crowd. Hammond was there, of course, as was Sam. Along with Teal'c. Daniel and Jack were both off sleeping; Daniel at home, Jack in his office. Sam had stayed at the SGC long enough to say goodbye to her father, then she'd head for her own house and get some much needed sleep as well. Everyone could sort everything else out in the morning, with clear heads.  
  
The gate began dialing.  
  
Hammond stepped forward with his hand extended, and Jacob shook it.  
  
"Pleasure seeing you, George. Let's try to do it more often, and under less extreme circumstances."  
  
"I agree, Jacob."  
  
He turned to his daughter and gave her another hug, holding her close for a long moment.  
  
"Be good."  
  
"I will, dad. You and Selmac stay out of trouble."  
  
"Of course!"  
  
The gate flared as the seventh chevron locked, and engaged, and Jacob turned back to George. This time, though, it was Selmac who addressed the General.  
  
"When Colonel Mitchell is ready, send her. We have need of Talon's expertise."  
  
With that last cryptic statement, and another wave, Jacob left. 


	32. 32

She ended up letting herself in. There was no answer when she rapped lightly on the door, and she almost decided that he was asleep and she should let him sleep. Then, of course, Talon had jumped in and goaded her once more into growing some backbone. Yeah, it could wait, but he already knew her well enough to know that if she waited this time, she'd probably find a reason to wait the next morning, and the next. Talon wasn't going to rush her into leaving Earth, but he wasn't going to hang out for 20 years while she dithered, either. So she fished out her keys once more, and found his apartment key – which was right next to her own house keys – and let herself in.  
  
He was sleeping on his sofa. Still sitting upright, and with the remote control in his hand, although the TV was off. He'd taken a shower; his face was clean, and when she got closer she could see that his dark hair was still damp. Mitchell came up behind him, and rested her hand lightly on his bare shoulder, knowing that it was all she'd need to do to wake him up. He opened his eyes and turned, not startled by the touch as so many would have been. It was another thing she liked about him; he was too easy-going to ever be startled by anything. Not at all like Mitchell, who admitted freely that she tended to be jittery at times – which certainly had something to do with the amount of coffee she drank.  
  
His blue eyes were worried as he realized who it was standing there. She was supposed to be on the base resting, last Anderson knew, so he was immediately concerned.  
  
"Colonel?"  
  
"Relax, Brad."  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing." She came around and sat down next to him, not close enough to touch, but close enough. "I was just checking on you."  
  
He blushed. "You didn't need to. I'm fine. How are you feeling?"  
  
"Much better."  
  
"General Hammond talked to me before I left..." Anderson said. "He wants me to take over SG-2."  
  
"I know. He told me earlier." She smiled. "You'll do great."  
  
He shrugged. "It's not how I wanted to get my first command."  
  
"It beats the alternative." Which was taking over after she died. Anderson bit his lower lip as he realized what she meant, and Mitchell reached out and took his hand before he could get upset again. "I'm fine, Brad. With what happened, I mean. I really like Talon, and he's got a few things planned for the Goa'uld that I agree with completely. If I had to choose between dying from that dart, and what I have now, I'd choose this way every time."  
  
"Really?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"When do you leave?"  
  
"In a few days, probably. I have some things to take care of, first."  
  
He nodded, but he looked more forlorn than ever. She sighed.  
  
"I'm not going to be gone forever, you know."  
  
"I know." He didn't know, though. He didn't know what they were planning for her, and he didn't know when he was going to see her again once she left. He looked down at his hands, knowing she could read his expression too easily to hide how upset he was and not wanting her to know. "It's better than the alternative." He whispered.  
  
"It has its advantages, Brad." Melony told him.  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"I'm still in the Air Force, and still a Colonel, but I'm not in your chain of command anymore."  
  
He looked up, wondering if that meant what he hoped it meant. He loved her, and knew she liked him, but that wasn't the same as love. Of course, they'd never actually been able to have that discussion for obvious reasons, but now...? She smiled, and leaned over and kissed him before he could say anything.  
  
"Which means I can do that."  
  
His heart – which had dropped into the pit of his stomach when he thought of her leaving – now soared once more, and Anderson tried to catch his breath, which she'd stolen completely away with the unexpected kiss.  
  
"Just that?"  
  
Mitchell laughed, and Brad smiled as well, realizing how that had sounded.  
  
"You know what I mean, Colonel," He said, lamely, blushing again.  
  
"I'd be disappointed if that was all you wanted to do, Brad." Melony said, realizing she was definitely going to have to take the initiative this time. She leaned over and kissed him again, and this time, he reached out and pulled her into his arms.  
  
/././  
  
It was much later when her cell phone ringing woke her up. Mitchell opened her eyes, very reluctantly. She was warm, and comfortable, and she didn't have a clue where the damned phone was, since it was with her clothes, and those had vanished hours before. She ignored it, figuring whoever it was would give up and hang up, but that didn't work.  
  
"Damn..." She rolled over a little, sliding out of Brad's loose embrace, and then leaned over him and looked over the edge of the bed, following the sound of the rings to her shirt, which held her phone. Reaching down – and probably smooshing Anderson a little, since she was resting on him – she grabbed up her phone, her hands touching the floor, her body still on the bed, and all the blood rushing to her head.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Where are you?"  
  
"Who is this?"  
  
"Jack. Where are you?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Did I wake you up?"  
  
"Yes. Where are you?"  
  
"At the base. Where you're supposed to be resting, remember?"  
  
"No one said I had to rest, Jack."  
  
"Fraiser let you go?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Where are you?"  
  
Hmmm... tell him? Or don't? She wondered how that would go over. Better to wait.  
  
"Is everything all right, Jack?"  
  
"Are you at home?"  
  
"No."  
  
There was a long silence, and she knew she didn't need to tell him anything else; he'd figured it out on his own. O'Neill always was a smart guy.  
  
"Are you going to be here in the morning?"  
  
"Yes. Will you?"  
  
She felt a hand running along her hip, and looked over her shoulder at Brad, who was awake and watching her as she talked on the phone. Melony gave him a smile, which he returned, and went back to her conversation.  
  
"Yeah, Jack. I'll be there at..." She looked at her watch. It was 3 am. "8:00. Okay?"  
  
"Good enough."  
  
"I'll talk to you later, Jack."  
  
"Enjoy your evening, Melony."  
  
"Oh, I will."  
  
He was laughing as he hung up the phone, and Melony shook her head as she turned off her cell.  
  
"Colonel O'Neill?" Anderson asked as she righted herself and cuddled against him again."  
  
"M-hmmm."  
  
"Everything all right?"  
  
"M-hmmm... he was just checking up on me..."  
  
Anderson started to say something else, but Melony had already fallen asleep again, and she wouldn't have heard it anyways. He smiled, pulled her a little closer and went back to sleep as well. 


	33. 33

The next morning Melony was up and gone before Anderson woke up. She felt great, and refreshed – thanks to Talon – but Mitchell wanted to let Brad get a bit more sleep. He needed his sleep, and she intended to let him get it. She, on the other hand, needed to get the SGC before Jack came looking for her. She left Anderson a note telling him where she'd gone and told him to take his time getting up and around. Since she was still his Commanding officer – for however much longer – she had that authority, and she'd use it as long as she could.  
  
She checked in at the main guard shack to see if Jack had come through yet, and was told he was only a few minutes ahead of her. Since she hadn't had breakfast, the commissary was her first stop, where she ordered a huge breakfast of pancakes, eggs and bacon. The activities of the night aside, Talon had used a lot of her reserves healing her and she probably should have stayed in bed a little longer – not that she'd ever admit to that.  
  
This was where Jack found her. She'd barely sat down when she felt a hand come down on her shoulder, and a voice whisper in her ear.  
  
"I know what you did last night."  
  
She flushed, but when he came around and sat down across from her he was grinning so broadly, and his eyes were so full of good humor that she had to grin as well.  
  
"You're just jealous."  
  
"Nah. Anderson's a good looking guy, I suppose, but he's not really my type."  
  
She laughed, and leaned back in her chair, taking a moment to check him out while he was sitting still. He looked tired, still, but his good humor was a sure sign that he was feeling better than he looked.  
  
"How do you feel?" Obviously he was thinking the same thing she was. She smiled and picked up a piece of her bacon.  
  
"Hungry."  
  
"Uh huh, we won't even go into the reason for the sudden appetite." It was obvious that he was okay with her choice of trysting partners, since otherwise she was pretty sure he'd be scowling. He'd never approved of any boyfriend she'd ever introduced him to before. Not that there'd been all that many in recent years.  
  
"Let him who is without sin..."  
  
"Yeah yeah." He reached over and stole a piece of her bacon and dipped it in her syrup. "I'll have you know my love life is stagnant right now."  
  
"Maybe I'm not the only one that should have a heart to heart with a Major?"  
  
"Maybe you're-"  
  
"Good morning."  
  
They both looked up and saw Samantha Carter walking up to the table, and Melony smiled when she saw Jack flush hotly. Almost caught talking about her! He caught her grin, and scowled at her, giving her a definite warning that the subject was closed. One she respected, and told him with a slight nod that she agreed.  
  
"Good morning, Major," Mitchell said.  
  
"Morning, Carter."  
  
"Can I join you, or is this a private conversation?"  
  
"Nah. Sit down." Melony smiled. "I was hoping to catch you, actually."  
  
"Oh?" Carter sat down, setting her tray on the table, and Jack stole a piece of her toast.  
  
"Talon wants to use your lab sometime in the near future. He's very impressed with your setup."  
  
"What's he building?" Jack asked.  
  
"I'm building it, Jack. He's just going to show me what to do."  
  
"What are YOU building?"  
  
She shrugged. "No clue."  
  
Sam smiled. She obviously was curious, too, but she didn't ask for details, knowing that she'd probably find out eventually. Jack, on the other hand, was still curious.  
  
"Come on, Melony. Ask him."  
  
Talon took over, then, and when Mitchell spoke next Carter and O'Neill could tell the difference immediately.  
  
"I am going to build a M'era'tikurian device, Colonel O'Neill." Talon told him. "Or as close to one as I can with the items and equipment that Major Carter can provide in her laboratory."  
  
"What's that?" Both of them were staring.  
  
Mitchell smiled, and shrugged as Talon relinquished control once more.  
  
"Your guess is as good as mine."  
  
Jack scowled.  
  
"You asked what he was building." She told him innocently. "And he told you."  
  
Carter laughed. Which only made O'Neill scowl some more.  
  
"I think teaming you and this Talon guy was a big mistake, Colonel Mitchell." he said, taking another slice of her bacon. "One smart ass is bad enough. Add in another one, and I think I've met my match."  
  
"He's great, Jack." Melony told him, seriously. "All kidding aside; he's probably just as eager to finish off the Goa'uld as anyone, and he's smart enough to think of several ideas that might help do it."  
  
"Dad said that the Tok'ra need his expertise," Sam said. "Before he left last night, I mean."  
  
"Yeah, that's what Talon said. But he also said they can wait. What he's been working on is all experimental, and some is so far out of the box that it's more theory than fact, so there's no rush, really. Even though the Tok'ra might not agree. He's willing to wait for a few days."  
  
It was clear that Jack approved of the symbiote caring more about what Melony wanted than what the rest of the Tok'ra wanted. He didn't care about what the Tok'ra wanted, either.  
  
"What are your plans today?" He asked as he took another slice of her bacon – leaving her only one out of the original four.  
  
"Well, as soon as I'm done eating what little breakfast you've saved me, and I've had about a pot of coffee, I'm going to see if Hammond has any orders for me, and if he doesn't I'll either take over Major Carter's lab, or I'll go try to figure out what I'm going to do with all my crap while I'm living in Tok'raville." 


	34. 34

She ended up taking over Carter's lab. Hammond didn't need her for anything just then, and he had a lot of his own work to take care of, so he told her she was pretty much detached, and could do as she pleased while she prepared to go off-world. Melony had nodded, leaving his office, and went to seek out Carter, who'd told her she'd be in her lab after she finished eating. Sure enough, that was where she was.  
  
"You're sure you're not going to need it?" Mitchell asked. "Talon says we might be here for quite a while."  
  
"I'm not going to need it anytime soon," Sam assured her. "Just make sure you don't blow anything up."  
  
"Moi??" Mitchell gave her an innocent grin, and Carter left her to whatever it was she was doing.  
  
They took a minute to look through things. Actually, Melony did all the browsing, while Talon looked on. It was an odd feeling, having him watching through her eyes like he was, but she was getting used to it, and she had to admit that she really liked the symbiote's sarcastic and sardonic humor. It was pretty close to her own. Talon assured her it was mutual.  
  
They finished cataloguing what Carter had for them to work with, and Melony got to work. She pulled things from drawers, and off shelves, and out from underneath other things and piled them all together, then took up a soldering device and started putting things together in the order and position that Talon told her to. It would probably have been easier for him to simply take over and do it himself, but this way was more comfortable for his host, and he wasn't going to do anything she didn't like. They had a long time together, and he wanted to make sure they started it off right.  
  
"Whatcha making?" Jack asked, sticking his head through the door about an hour later. "And don't tell me it's a Maritime Device."  
  
"M'era'tikurian, Jack." She grinned, looking up from what she was doing.  
  
"Whatever."  
  
"Don't you have somebody else you should be bothering?"  
  
He pretended to pull out a list from his pocket and browse it, and then shook his head. "Nope. From 12 to 3 it's all you."  
  
"I'm so lucky."  
  
"Hey. Most people would kill to spend so much time with me."  
  
"Uh huh." She shook her head, and felt Talon's amusement. "Come in, then."  
  
He was in the room in an instant, door closed behind him and standing there next to her and breathing down her neck as he leaned over to see what she was doing. All he could see was a tiny group of wires and something, and a piece of something else that glowed fairly bright, and more wires.  
  
"What does it do?"  
  
"Nothing. Yet."  
  
"What will it do?"  
  
"How's Major Carter?"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Just curious."  
  
"She's fine."  
  
"Tell me more about her."  
  
"What? Why?"  
  
"Something to do to pass the time while I do this?"  
  
"Uh uh." Jack shook his head. "I'm not going to spill my guts to you."  
  
"Might make you feel better."  
  
"I feel fine."  
  
She grinned, and teased him for the next twenty minutes. It was one of her favorite things to do anyways, and Jack's love life – or lack thereof – and Major Carter, were two easy topics to goad him on. Of course, since she'd known him so long, Melony hardly held Jack in awe like many of the people on the base did. Not that she didn't respect him – because she did – and she loved him more than pretty much anyone, but he was open game as far as she was concerned, and he knew it.  
  
He tried to get her back. Tried asking very personal questions about Brad Anderson to get her off balance, but that didn't work, because she answered them willingly. And after the first time she told him way more than he wanted to know – considering she was pretty much a little sister to him – Jack put his hands over his ears and closed his eyes and started making the 'I can't hear you' noises.  
  
Mitchell laughed, and waited for him to bring his hands down and open his eyes again.  
  
"Jack? Why don't you go find something to do? I'll get this done a lot faster if I'm alone, and the sooner I get it done, the sooner I'll tell you what it does."  
  
"Are you going to have it done today?"  
  
"Maybe. If you don't pester me."  
  
"I don't pester. I advise."  
  
"Uh huh. Go advise elsewhere."  
  
She shooed him off, and he went, casting injured glances at her over his shoulder the entire way to the door. Glances that she ignored, since she knew they were just designed to try and make her feel guilty. He gave up, stuck his tongue out at her, and left her alone. And Mitchell went back to her building.  
  
...  
  
"Good afternoon, Sir. Have you seen Colonel Mitchell?"  
  
Anderson looked a little better, Jack decided. The Major had come to his office looking for Melony, since she wasn't in the SGC lounge, and she wasn't in the commissary. Jack's office was the next obvious guess.  
  
"She's in Major Carter's lab, Major." Jack told him, waving him into the room. "But don't bother going there. She's already kicked me out. Apparently, she and Talon are making a Mer... Medritian device... or something."  
  
"What's that?" Brad asked as he sat down.  
  
"Beats me. She won't tell me."  
  
"Well, if she won't tell you, she's not going to tell me, either."  
  
"Nope, probably not."  
  
Jack watched the young man sitting across from him silently for a few long minutes, and Brad Anderson watched Jack. The Major knew Jack was probably sizing him up, since he knew that Jack knew what had happened between him and Mitchell. Either that or he was about to get his ass chewed for taking advantage of her, or something. Of course, since they weren't at Mitchell's house last night, it was obvious Anderson hadn't gone to her, so that might have helped. Whatever it was, he figured it would be easier for them to just get it over with.  
  
"Something bothering you, Sir?"  
  
Jack scowled, slightly, but nodded. Then he seemed to think better of it, and shrugged.  
  
"No. Not really." He leaned forward slightly, his brown eyes intent, but not angry or concerned. "You know what she means to me, Major."  
  
"Yes, Sir. I do."  
  
"She's going to have a lot on her plate with this Tok'ra – although she says she likes him, and he seems to be a good... guy... as near as I can tell – but I don't want her to feel overwhelmed. New symbiote, new... um... relationship. Leaving home to go live where ever."  
  
"Are you asking me to step aside?" Brad asked.  
  
"Hell no!" Jack shook his head. "I wouldn't dream of it. First of all, it's just as obvious that she loves you, and second of all, what the two of you do is none of my business. But I am asking you to make sure you don't ask too much of her. I don't want her hurt."  
  
"I won't, Sir." Anderson shook his head. "I'd kill myself before I hurt her."  
  
Good enough. There was no doubting the sincerity, and Jack was very good at judging people. Even though his judgments weren't always right on the money.  
  
"I hear you're taking SG-2."  
  
"Yes, Sir."  
  
"Good. At least she won't have to worry about her team."  
  
That was a compliment, and Anderson knew it. He blushed, slightly.  
  
"Thank you, Sir."  
  
Jack stood up. The talk was over.  
  
"We should have a going away party for her. Tomorrow."  
  
"A party?"  
  
"Why not?" He asked. "We can have it at her place; it's big enough and she has a big yard."  
  
Anderson nodded. Why not, indeed? There were quite a few SG teams home right now, and the next day was Friday, so it wouldn't be a bad day to throw a bash – as long as it was in the evening when everyone was off duty.  
  
"Sounds good, Sir." He stood up as well.  
  
"Good. You plan it."  
  
A good bye party. Jack sighed. He didn't want to lose her, he certainly didn't want to have a party to celebrate her leaving, but it was a good way to send her off, and he'd have another chance to spend some time with her before she left.  
  
"I'll plan it, Sir," Anderson told him with a grin. "But you have to go get the stuff."  
  
Bah. Caught.  
  
Jack nodded.  
  
"Fair enough." 


	35. 35

Author's Note: This is one of those transitional chapters... not all that interesting, but necessary!  
  
...  
  
Mitchell emerged from Carter's lab late into the afternoon. She was tired of being cooped up, and tired of having techno-babble in her head. Even though she understood what it was, and what the words and phrases that Talon was sharing meant – thanks to the Tok'ra sharing them with her, she wasn't the scientist he was, and if not for him taking care of her from the inside out, she would have had a raging headache by then.  
  
She gathered up her newly-finished device – simply to keep anyone from finding it and playing with it – and made sure she'd left everything where Carter had it originally. Then she called the OD to find out if Brad Anderson had made it into the base. He had, but she couldn't find him when she went looking for him. She couldn't find Jack, either. Grumbling, she decided she might as well just go home.  
  
She stopped for a burger on the way, figuring she'd just take it home with her. (She never ate in her car) Talon wanted her to get more than just a burger – he wanted to try one of everything – but the two of them compromised and she got a bacon cheeseburger, a chicken sandwich, a fish sandwich, fries, onion rings and two shakes – one strawberry, one blackberry. Basically, a little of everything, but not everything that was on the menu. Then she drove home, ate a little of everything, and sat down on the sofa, ready to relax and do nothing.  
  
[Can we watch TV?]  
  
She grinned and turned it on, flipping through the channels for him so he could see everything that her dish had to offer. He showed particular interest in the football game, so she left the channel there, and stretched out to watch it. There wasn't anything else that she had to do, so she didn't mind letting him have a bit of time to see what her world was like. They'd be back on his soon enough.  
  
[When the Goa'uld are gone, we'll stay here, if you wish] Talon told her, catching the train of her thoughts.  
  
I'm comfortable here.  
  
[I know]  
  
They didn't speak further, but she was still very much in tune with her symbiote, and was listening in on him while he watched the ball game, grinning occasionally when he didn't understand something, and explaining a rule or a call so he wouldn't have to rummage through her memories to find out what was going on. It was like watching the game with a five year old, but it was fun. And it was relaxing.  
  
Her cell phone rang close to the end of the fourth quarter, and she reached for it.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hey."  
  
"Hi."  
  
"Where are you?"  
  
"Home. You?"  
  
"Home. Can I come over?"  
  
"You don't have to ask permission, lover, just come."  
  
"Habit, I guess." She could hear the pleasure in his voice at being called such an intimate nickname, and Mitchell smiled. And ignored Talon's sudden interest in her physical reaction to his voice. The symbiote had never had a female host before, and he wasn't so used to the differences in physiology and hormone levels, and it was interesting to him.  
  
Leave my hormones alone. She warned him.  
  
[Moi??] she could feel his mocking innocence, and she smiled again.  
  
"Come over, Brad. Bring food if you want to eat, though, I already had dinner."  
  
"I'll be there in ten."  
  
"Door's open." Like it mattered, since he had a key.  
  
Just as the game finished, Anderson knocked on the door. Melony didn't bother to get up, since she knew who it was. She just turned her head and watched the door open and her Major come through.  
  
"How was your day?" He asked, coming over and leaning over to kiss her, hesitantly. He was still feeling a bit odd about being able to do that whenever he wanted to – but he liked it!  
  
"I built a doohickey."  
  
"That's what Colonel O'Neill was telling me. What is it?"  
  
"A present for Jack."  
  
She patted the spot next to herself, and he took the invitation and sat down.  
  
"You made Colonel O'Neill a present? A doohickey?"  
  
She nodded. "Well, Talon told me how, so really; he made it."  
  
"Do I get to see it?"  
  
"It's on the table."  
  
He got up and walked over to the table, curiosity driving him crazy. The device looked a little like a wristwatch, but it was a bit bulkier, and he didn't see a time display anywhere on it.  
  
"What's it do?"  
  
"It's complicated." She didn't feel like trying to explain it, and she didn't feel like letting Talon take over to explain it, either. "I'll tell you later, okay?"  
  
"Okay." He set it down and walked back over and sat down again, this time close enough to her that he was touching her.  
  
"Did you make me a present, too?" He asked, smiling.  
  
"I have something else in mind for you, Brad."  
  
His grin was positively naughty, and Mitchell laughed when she realized how that ha sounded.  
  
"Not that." She told him, grinning. Then she corrected herself. "Well, yeah, that, too. But that wasn't what I meant."  
  
"What did you mean?"  
  
"I'm going to need someone to take over things here. The house, my bank accounts, Michael's car. I was wondering if you'd be the power of attorney for me?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"You know. Take care of my stuff. I don't want to sell the house – I really don't have time, and I'm pretty fond of it. Besides, I'll need a place to sleep when I get back here for visits."  
  
"You could stay at my place."  
  
"Yeah. Or you could stay at mine, and take care of it for me." She shrugged. "I know it's a lot to ask, but I trust you, and you don't have a house of your own to worry about."  
  
"And your car?"  
  
"I'll need wheels when I'm here, too. And I sure as hell won't sell that. It's either have you take it, or give it to Jack. If you're living at my house, though, you might as well have my car."  
  
"Melony-"  
  
"Please?"  
  
"But-"  
  
"I don't know what else to do with the house, Brad. It's not going to be able to come through the Stargate with me – no more than the Mustang is – and I've accepted that. But I'm not going to let the house fall to ruins, and I'm not going to let the car go to rust. Which means I need someone to watch them for me."  
  
"Colonel O'Neill-"  
  
"Already owns a house. He has his roots down. You don't. You could just watch over my roots for me..."  
  
He looked fairly surprised by the conversation they were having, but Mitchell had to be practical; she was leaving soon and she had valid points for everything she was saying. She needed him to say yes. Or at least... "Just think about it, please?"  
  
"Okay."  
  
She smiled, relieved that he hadn't said no immediately, and changed the subject to give him time to think about it without being pressured by her.  
  
"What did you do today?"  
  
"Planned out your goodbye party."  
  
"I'm having a goodbye party?"  
  
"Uh huh."  
  
"Who's idea was that?"  
  
"Colonel O'Neill's." He gathered her into his arms and held her, just wanting to be close, and Mitchell went willingly.  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yup. We're having it here."  
  
"I don't have to cook, do I?"  
  
"Good God, no. We don't want to poison everyone before you go."  
  
She laughed. Yeah, she wasn't the best of cooks, and it was no secret.  
  
"When?"  
  
"Tomorrow evening."  
  
"Will there be cake?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Good."  
  
He smiled and leaned over to kiss her. They could talk about the party later. They could talk about the device she'd built later. They could talk about him moving into her house, and taking over her affairs later. Right now there was a different kind of affair she wanted to concentrate on. They didn't have all that much time to be together, after all, and she didn't want to waste it anymore than he did. 


	36. 36

The next day Mitchell didn't go into the SGC. She had too many things to take care of around her house. Anderson made breakfast for the two of them, which was pretty much a necessity if he wanted to eat anything before heading off to the base. When they were finished eating, she told him she'd clean everything up, and he kissed her soundly and headed out. He had a lot of party stuff to take care of, and needed to check and see if General Hammond had anything for him to do, as well.  
  
Mitchell sat at her kitchen table and finished off the pot of coffee while reading the paper. Not that anything that was going on around town really mattered all that much anymore, since she wasn't going to be around for the town meeting, or the local high schools' grudge match on the football field. But it was part of her regular routine to read the paper. So she did. And then she ended up explaining the comics to Talon, who didn't understand why most of them made her grin, and sometimes actually chuckle.  
  
As she loaded the dishwasher, she and Talon discussed what she should bring and what she didn't need to. The Tok'ra traveled light, so she had to keep that in mind. She understood that completely, though, and decided that she'd take her BDU's as her regular wear – she'd seen what the Tok'ra women generally wore when they came through the Stargate for visits, and there was no way she was going to walk around with that much bare skin showing. The amusement from Talon didn't cover up the fact that he agreed with her. He wanted her to be comfortably attired, because eventually they'd be out in the field and out of his lab, and she'd need the uniforms.  
  
She started the dishwasher, and went into her bedroom. Pulling out her overseas bag (a large green duffle bag that would hold an astounding amount of stuff) she opened her closet. The dress uniforms would stay. She wouldn't need them unless she was on Earth – and if she was on Earth, she could pick them up here. She put in a couple of books that she particularly enjoyed, threw in a photo album that held pictures of her folks, Michael, and her days at the Academy for the most part. There were also pictures of the men of SG-2 from a barbeque they'd had the year before, and many pictures of Jack and Michael together. This was definitely going. As was a large supply of coffee beans, since Mitchell wasn't going to wake up every morning on an unfamiliar planet and not have a pot of coffee to wake up with.  
  
[Are you sure you don't want to bring the kitchen sink?] Talon asked her, taking that particular phrase from a commercial they'd seen on TV during the game the night before and using it for his own purpose.  
  
You're lucky I don't have a dog. Mitchell told him, smiling. Otherwise he'd be coming, too, and the Tok'ra would have to worry about dog shit all over their tunnels.  
  
That took a bit to explain, since Talon didn't know what a dog was, but eventually he agreed that it was a good thing she didn't have a dog.  
  
...  
  
There was a knock on the door sometime around noon. Mitchell went to the door and opened it, and smiled when she saw Jack O'Neill there with an armful of grocery bags. Quick to take a couple from him, she walked with him into the kitchen.  
  
"What's all this, Jack?"  
  
"It's for your party. Anderson told you about it, right?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"He did the planning, but I had to pick all the stuff up."  
  
"That sounds fair."  
  
"Yeah, well. If I'd been thinking, I would have done the planning and delegated the picking up of things."  
  
"Anderson beat you to it, huh?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
There was a dizzying array of food. All sorts of potato salads and pasta salads, condiments of all sorts, and meat of every variety. Steaks, burgers, hotdogs, chicken, chops, and ribs.  
  
"Did you get enough?" She asked him facetiously.  
  
"There's more in the truck."  
  
There was, too. Tons of different drinks; beer, soda, juices of all kinds. Chips of all sorts – many that even Melony had never tried – desserts; cookies, pie, brownies, cake, and one great big watermelon. Melony shook her head, amused, but Talon was eager to try everything. He liked Earth food!  
  
Not until everyone arrives.  
  
[I can wait]  
  
Uh huh.  
  
[Why don't you give O'Neill his M'era'tikurian device?] Talon suggested, changing the subject.  
  
Good idea.  
  
They put all the food into her fridge – it was a good thing she didn't cook and had no actual food in there of her own or there wouldn't have been room – then Mitchell took the device she'd made off the table and walked over to Jack.  
  
"Hey, Jack?"  
  
He turned from stuffing the last bag of chips into her cupboard, and looked at her, then down at the thing in her hand.  
  
"Is that the Mer...thingie you made?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Do I get to find out what it does?"  
  
She smiled. "You probably should, since Talon had me build it for you."  
  
"For me, specifically?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
She handed it over to him.  
  
"It looks like a watch."  
  
"Kind of." She agreed. "It can be worn like one. As a matter of fact, to use it, you'll have to have it on, since it'll only work for you."  
  
"What does it do?"  
  
"It's a communication device."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Like a walkie-talkie?"  
  
"Yeah." Mitchell said. "Only it has a lot more range. A lot." She pulled another device – identical to the one Jack was holding out of her pocket and held it up.  
  
"You have one, I have the other?"  
  
"Yours will only work for you, mine will only work for me. They're attuned to us. To keep someone else – or something else – from gaining control of them."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"It's pretty much a brand new science, Jack. These two are the prototypes, and Talon wants a chance to work with the technology a bit more before he spreads it around. But he knows how miserable I am about leaving, and he decided that we'd be an exception."  
  
"You don't have to go..." Jack said, his brown eyes serious. He'd wanted to have this conversation with her, anyways, and since the two of them were alone – not counting Talon – it was a perfect time to.  
  
"Yeah, I do." She gave him a smile that was a little sad, and a lot resigned. "Talon is needed, and I know that. I accept that, too, so you might as well, also. But – and this is a big but – if you need to get hold of me, you won't have to wait for the Tok'ra to tell me. You can use this." She held up her device.  
  
"What if I'm off-world?" Jack said.  
  
"Doesn't matter." Mitchell grinned. "These things are sub-space. When you activate yours, it will open a slipstream in sub-space that will allow whatever you say to reach my device in moments. There's hardly any time lag." She grimaced. "Right now, it's only good to deliver messages, since he hasn't figured out how to make it two-way, but if you need me – or if I need you, for that matter – you push this button, tell me what you need, or where you are, and then hit this button to send it off. I'll get it right away, and wherever I am, I'll come."  
  
He looked down at his doohickey, and Melony could see the muscles in his jaw working hard – a sure sign he was upset. Not angry, just upset.  
  
"It's all we could think of, Jack." She said, softly. "I can't give up our friendship, and I need to be able to-"  
  
"I know." He looked up, and she saw his eyes were misty. "It's great, Melony. It's more than I could have hoped for." And probably would stop him from tying her up so she couldn't leave. "When will you be able to make one that lets us talk back and forth?"  
  
Talon took over, but Jack had warning when Mitchell's head nodded, slightly, and came back up.  
  
"I will work on it as soon as I can, Colonel, but there are other things that must come first. Communication devices are not my true specialty – weapons are – but this is all I could make with the available items in Major Carter's laboratory."  
  
"Sam could make some of these?"  
  
"Most likely not. When I have the completed prototype figured out, I will share the technology with Major Carter. Until then, there is a danger of setting off a chain reaction in the sub-spac-"  
  
Jack held up his hands to stop Talon.  
  
"I don't want to know."  
  
"You asked."  
  
"I changed my mind." He looked down at the device once more. "Thanks, Talon. You don't know how much this means to me."  
  
"I know what it means to my host," The Tok'ra told him. "I can only imagine you have similar feelings. If the time comes, Colonel O'Neill, that the Tau'ri need Melony more than the Tok'ra need me, we will come. No matter where we are. I give you my pledge."  
  
"You're a weapons expert?" Jack asked, more to hide the gruffness in his voice. You don't cry in front of Tok'ra! Even one that's stuck in one of your favorite people in the world.  
  
"I am a weapons designer."  
  
"What are you working on?"  
  
"You wouldn't understand if I tried to tell you." Talon told him.  
  
Good point. Jack grinned, and shrugged, and Talon gave control back to Mitchell.  
  
"Ha, he told you."  
  
"Yeah yeah. Hush." Jack strapped the M'era'tikurian device on the wrist that didn't have his watch, and pulled her into a hug. "I'm really going to miss you."  
  
"I'll be back."  
  
"Promise?" It was dumb to ask for a promise that couldn't be guaranteed, Jack knew, but he couldn't help it.  
  
"I swear." Just as crazy to make a promise that she wasn't positive she could keep – since the Tok'ra were the Goa'uld's favorite targets, but Melony didn't care. 


	37. 37

There were very few times when the personnel of the entire SGC got together. Since the most frequent reason was a funeral for a lost team member – or members – it was always more enjoyable when that reason for getting together was something that didn't involve pain, or tears.  
  
Colonel Mitchell's going away party was well on its way to becoming a legend. Only one SG team was off-world, and every one of the ones that wasn't was represented at her party by at least one member - and in most cases, more than one. Her backyard, which was huge, was filled with people. Marines and Air Force for the most part, since they were the majority of the people that made up the SGC, but there were also quite a few civilians, as well. Everyone that came was made welcome, and there was plenty to eat and drink, and plenty to do.  
  
SG-2 was all there. Simmons and Williams had absolutely no intention of letting her leave them without a chance to say goodbye. Even though they looked battered, still, and Williams was scheduled for a surgery on his knee just the next day. The three of them – Anderson, Williams and Simmons – stayed at her side almost the entire evening, and no one held it against them that they monopolized her attentions. They were the ones that were closest to her, after all, and they would be the ones that would miss her the most once she was gone.  
  
There were gifts, too. It was a sign of just how well everyone knew her when the majority of her presents were her favorite coffee bean, all packaged so that she would be able to take them with her. There were photos taken, photos shared, and photos that were giggled over.  
  
Jack was the cook. This gave him something to do besides brood – which he definitely would have done if given the chance. Mitchell announced halfway through the evening that her affairs were as in order as they were going to get, and that she and Talon were going to be heading through the gate the next morning. Apparently, Brad Anderson had been asked to take care of Melony's house, and while Jack knew it was a good idea, he couldn't help but think it wasn't going to be the same as having Melony herself here. The younger Colonel was leaving, and was going to be someplace where Jack couldn't protect her. So instead of thinking about that, and worrying about that, he cooked. He barbequed for the people assembled, and was at his outrageous best, hiding his feelings as he always did, although the few who knew him the best knew better.  
  
Mitchell knew better, of course, but she gave him his space. They'd already talked about her leaving, and there wasn't anything more to be said, really. She was ready to go, and he knew it. More importantly, she wasn't going to be completely inaccessible, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Jack knew this. Melony knew this.  
  
The only person that had more fun at Mitchell's party than Melony was Talon. He'd never seen so many of the Tau'ri together before, and had never seen so many different kinds of people and styles of mannerism and dress. The Tok'ra was watching everything, and had convinced Melony to try everything – at least a taste – so he could know what it was like. This also included the different beers and ales that Jack had bought for the party, so Melony would open a bottle, take a drink and hand it over to one of the other people at the party to finish. She didn't want to get plastered that night, not even for the curious symbiote. It turned into a game for the members of the SGC once they found out what was going on, and people started bringing all sorts of things for her to eat to let her symbiote to try. Some were even things that Melony didn't even like. But she tried everything, grumbling the entire time, and reminding Talon that if she got sick, he was going to get sick, too. And he wouldn't like that very much. He wasn't worried – he was in charge of keeping her healthy, and he would, but he was really enjoying what they were doing.  
  
As evening turned into night, and then night turned into late night, the party eventually started to wind down. People started leaving, and there were many hugs and handshakes, and well-wishes. Mitchell was close to crying by the time the members of SG-2 gathered around her for the night. Williams wouldn't be at the SGC the next day because of his surgery, and the young Lieutenant grabbed her up into a long bear hug and held her tightly.  
  
"You'll be back, right?"  
  
"You know it." She assured him, running her fingers through his short spikey hair. "Every holiday for sure, and maybe sometimes just to pop in and say hi."  
  
He'd nodded, and hugged her again, then had limped away painfully, supported by Simmons, who'd also hugged her tightly, even though he was going to be in the gate room the next day to see her off.  
  
She was glad that there were very few people left to see her crying, now. One more good-bye and she'd be bawling like a baby, and she knew it.  
  
A tissue was waved in front of her blurry eye and Melony reached for it as she turned to see who it was. Jack was smiling, slightly, but it wasn't a real smile. It was as forced as the one she gave him in return. He caught her in his arms and pulled her into his embrace, and held her. Held her like her own brother would have held her, had he been here for this moment.  
  
"I love you," he whispered into her ear.  
  
She nodded. That was no secret.  
  
Brad Anderson came over and put his hand on her shoulder, and the two men – the two people – that Melony loved most in her world made sure without words that she knew they'd always be there for her, no matter how far away from them she was. It was all they could do. And it was enough. 


	38. 38

The party was over. The house and yard was a huge mess, but Jack and SG-1 were all still around and they were more than willing to help clean up, as were a few other last minute people. Mitchell shooed them all away, though, telling them it was too late to care about cleaning and that they all needed to get home and get to bed. She'd clean it up in the morning.  
  
When the last person was out the door, she sighed, and looked over her shoulder at Brad, who wasn't planning on going home that night, of course. He smiled and came over to stand beside her and pulled her into his arms. She melted against him, resting her head on his muscular shoulder and sighed, tiredly.  
  
"You okay?"  
  
"Yeah. Just a bit worn out."  
  
"We'll clean tomorrow, then."  
  
"Mm-hmmm." That sounded fine to her. She was more than ready for bed – and yes, despite her best intentions, she was a bit drunk. Which also meant Talon was as well, and the symbiote was doing his level best to fix things, since he wasn't enjoying the sensation all that much.  
  
They went to bed.  
  
The next morning he woke her with breakfast in bed, and the two of them sat together and enjoyed a relaxed meal, while she listened to Talon bitching about the headache she had and how crappy he, himself was feeling.  
  
You're the one who wanted to drink.  
  
[You could have warned me.]  
  
What? And spoil it for you?  
  
[Bitch]  
  
Melony erupted into peals of laughter, and choked on her coffee. Brad, of course, didn't have a clue what was going on, but he pounded on her back and tried to help her catch her breath.  
  
"What was that all about?"  
  
She shook her head, still grinning and wiped the tears of mirth out of her eyes. "Talon's not enjoying the next morning headache, and is letting me know all about it."  
  
"Ah." He grinned as well. It was good to see her smiling.  
  
"We'd better get going." She said, kissing him. "There's a lot to get cleaned before we go, and I don't want to keep General Hammond waiting any longer than necessary."  
  
"We should have cleaned last night."  
  
"Well... the joys of procrastinating."  
  
Cleaning really wasn't that hard. They'd used mainly paper cups and plates, and it was just a matter of picking up whatever hadn't been thrown away already, and then pulling down all the decorations. She took care of the outside, he took care of the inside, and it didn't take all that long once they actually started doing it. By the time she was finished with the cleaning, Talon had brought her hangover down to more manageable proportions, so she was feeling much better.  
  
...  
  
She drove to the SGC with her bag in the trunk of the Mustang, and Brad in the passenger seat. Since he had agreed to take over her things for her, he'd be driving the car back to her house once she was gone. Secretly, he had no intention of driving her car – knowing what it meant to her there was no way he'd risk messing it up while she was gone – but he'd take care of it and keep it in the prime condition it was already in.  
  
Mitchell smiled when she saw the bleary eyes of many of the guards at the entrance to the base and at the checkpoints on the way down to the SGC. They were decidedly hung over, for the most part. There had been plenty of drinking at her party – there weren't any kids there, and plenty of sober people to be designated drivers, so why not? And now they were paying.  
  
The men and women also gave her best wishes as she was passed through each checkpoint. These folks were back on duty now so they wouldn't be able to come down and see her off and although most of them had said good-bye the night before they still said it again. Mitchell didn't mind.  
  
Jack met her with the rest of his team at the entrance to the lowest level. It was really just a show of support, Mitchell knew, but she loved him for it, and she appreciated the sentiment from the rest of SG-1. She'd be back. Sooner than they probably thought, but it was still nice of them all.  
  
Even more surprising was what was waiting for her when she and the others entered the embarkation room. Not only were her fellow SGC members all arranged in perfect formation, but also there were some very top-level brass there as well, come to see her off. She was grateful that she wasn't hung over, now, since she needed her wits about her when these high level men and women came to shake her hand and wish her the best. And then when the President of the United States himself reminded her that she'd better keep herself safe, since the Military had put a lot of money into her training, and there were only so many Colonel in the Military in the first place so they couldn't afford to lose one.  
  
"Yes, Sir."  
  
She could feel Talon's amusement, but the symbiote kept quiet, luckily, and Mitchell turned and nodded to Sergeant Davis, who already had the dialing sequence to the Tok'ra held world she was headed for.  
  
Hammond shook her hand, and then saluted her, and when she turned, the rest of the SGC members did the same. It was a beautiful touch, and Mitchell felt her eyes stinging, and if her hand trembled just a little when she returned the salute, no one noticed. Except maybe Jack, who gave her a cocky smile and pointed to the device he wore on his wrist. The matching one being strapped to Melony's.  
  
"I'll be back, Sir." She assured Hammond, and the rest of the people who were gathered.  
  
"We'll be here, Colonel."  
  
The gate activated, and she turned. A last look at Anderson, and then a final look at O'Neill, she completed the turn and shouldered her bag, then headed up the ramp, whistling the Air Force hymn loudly – Off We Go! – much to the amusement of all people present. She heard the chuckles even as she felt the gate take hold of her.  
  
...  
  
Epilogue next 


	39. Epilogue

Epilogue  
  
The steel blade flashed in the late afternoon sun, and the glint of metal caught Daniel Jackson's eye as he tried to finish the translation he was doing. He turned, just in time to hear a groan of defeat as the knife came down, and a squeal of victorious laughter. Someone was being a bad winner. There was a curse, and Daniel grinned. Someone was being a bad loser, too.  
  
"You're cheating."  
  
"I am not."  
  
"Am I going to have to separate you two?"  
  
The two combatants looked up and saw Samantha Carter standing over them, holding her canteen, and Jack O'Neill scowled.  
  
"She's cheating."  
  
"I am not."  
  
"Talon's helping you, isn't he? That's two on one. I should be allowed a helper, too."  
  
"I don't need Talon to beat you, Jack. Tic-tac-toe is easy once you take a while to study the probabilities and the-"  
  
"He IS helping you!" Jack accused. She never talked like that before her blending.  
  
"No, he's not." Mitchell grinned, and wiped the dirt off her knife. "I just had a conversation with him about the game once, and he told me how to win. Is that so wrong?"  
  
"Yes!"  
  
"Want to sit down and have a conversation with him about the subtleties of tic-tac-toe, Jack?" She asked, innocently.  
  
Daniel laughed, and took a bite of the fruit he was eating. Those two had not been changed by Colonel Mitchell's blending, and if anything, their relationship had become even stronger, as far as Jackson could tell.  
  
"Colonel?"  
  
O'Neill and Mitchell both looked up as Anderson walked over, and he grinned and pointed at Mitchell. "That Colonel."  
  
She gave O'Neill a slightly smug look. "He probably wants lessons, Jack," She told him. "Don't take it personally."  
  
Jack decided not to say what he was thinking, since it would have been oh so wildly inappropriate in mixed company – but if it had just been him and Melony he wouldn't have hesitated. The somewhat naughty gleam in his dark eyes told her he was thinking something personal, though, and Mitchell pointed at him, giving him a warning that whatever it was he wanted to say, he'd better keep it to himself. O'Neill grinned, but kept it to himself.  
  
"Actually, Colonel," Anderson said, grinning, "I was wondering if you were ready to try that room? Teal'c says he's ready whenever you are."  
  
She held her hand up, and Anderson hauled her to her feet. Symbiote or not, Mitchell was still lazy.  
  
"I'm ready, Brad." She said, dusting off her hands. "Let's see how many of those crystals we can get." And she led the others to the entrance.  
  
...  
  
They'd gone back to the pyramid because of the crystals. Talon had an interest in these things – even more of an interest than Samantha Carter, although the reason was the same. The symbiote thought they could be used in one of the new weapons he was building. Not for a laser, but for another application, and he'd wanted to gather some for testing.  
  
Before he could, though, there were a few things he had to do, and the first one was to come up with an antidote for the poison that had nearly killed Mitchell. She'd sent a message through the Stargate and the poisoned darts had been sent back, which Talon thoroughly examined, tested, and finally synthesized an antidote that would protect any other human from the poison. Another was to answer the SGC's request that they be allowed to send a couple teams with Mitchell, to gather some crystals of their own. It was crap, and Melony knew it – since Hammond knew fully well that Mitchell would never keep any of the things she and Talon found for the Tok'ra alone, but it was nice of the General to give her a chance to see the others, and of course she said yes.  
  
The Tok'ra hadn't approved. The high council – minus Jacob Carter, who was on an assignment – wanted to check out the crystals on their own first, and then see what they might be able to do with them, and THEN let the Tau'ri in on the secret. Talon didn't give a shit what the high council wanted. He never had anyways, and he was important enough to their cause that he was pretty much given free rein to do whatever he wanted. His host wanted to see her friends – and her mate – and Talon wanted the crystals. From Melony's memories, he knew there were plenty to go around, and he finally told the complaining Tok'ra that if they didn't allow him and his host to go, he'd make sure the Tau'ri knew the Tok'ra were trying to hold back on their end of the treaty that had been made. And the Tok'ra had backed down. Reluctantly, of course, but down they went. Besides, they needed Talon, and he knew it. And his host knew it.  
  
Talon had changed a bit since his blending. He'd always been a scientific type – brilliant even for a Tok'ra – but now he was a lot bolder, as well. The host was the difference, of course, since his last host had been too old for so long that going out and doing things had been pretty much impossible. Now that he had a younger host, and one who was brash and headstrong – and more than willing to tell the rest of the Tok'ra to go to hell, the Tok'ra were finding that Talon and Mitchell were far harder to control than they'd originally hoped.  
  
So they'd gone to Earth, Talon and Mitchell, and they'd spent a few days getting ready for another crack at the pyramid, and testing Talon's antidote on lab rats – just to make sure it worked – which it did. Then they'd gathered a bunch of gear – enough that they could stay for a few weeks if necessary – and SG-1 and SG-2 had gone through the Stargate, accompanied by Mitchell, who would play guide, but mainly was there because it was her idea, and who deserved another crack at the damned pyramid than the one that had almost been killed by it?  
  
Of course, once they'd reached the pyramid, Mitchell, O'Neill and Anderson had gathered the teams together, and decided that Mitchell and Teal'c would go first and trigger any more traps. Hopefully they wouldn't get hit by any darts, but if they were, the Tok'ra and the Jaffa were by far the best to handle it. (Of course, the darts hurt, so they'd do their best to avoid them)  
  
...  
  
Mitchell looked at Anderson and O'Neill, grinning cockily. Both of them had twin worried looks on their faces as they watched her and Teal'c position themselves at the entrance to the second room.  
  
"Stop that, you guys. We'll be fine. Won't we, Teal'c?"  
  
"Better than fine." The Jaffa agreed, stepping through the entrance and shining his light up at the crystals that were on the ceiling. The room immediately lit up brilliantly.  
  
"What could possibly go wrong, Jack?" Melony asked as she stepped forward as well.  
  
Nothing could go wrong, and she knew it, and Talon agreed. The two of them were invincible, and as a teak, they were going to get whatever they needed to finish building the weapon they needed to conclude their big plan and wipe out the Goa'uld.  
  
The end 


End file.
